Forgetting Reality
by AuKatzen
Summary: Life is tough, especially when you're fighting for yours every second.
1. Chapter 1

**K, new story. This chapter took like, a long time. I even edited it, which is something that rarely happens. Be extremely glad.**

**Actually, I wrote it, then edited it, then took the concept and wrote an entirely different chapter today. But I read over it. Does that count as editing? I normally don't read over what I write. That's your job.**

**Oh, Merry Christmas!**

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"_Is there anyone with you?" the figure asked. Touya's face remained impassive._

"_Do you have reason to believe that?" he returned blankly. "I don't see why I would try to keep anyone but myself alive right now."_

_The man frowned. "Of course you want to be difficult. You're human. Selfish, yet strangely protective of one another. One of your numerous flaws." He stepped closer to my brother; he tensed visibly. "If you want to be difficult, I can be difficult as well."_

"_What if I'm actually telling you the truth?" Touya asked skeptically. "I'm sure the guilt of not believing me will weigh on you for the rest of your life."_

"_Don't play with me." The creature, however human the body may be, moved in such a way that I just _knew_ he- it- was dangerous. Filthy parasite._

"_You don't seem like you would respond to torture well," the creature said, mostly to himself. He looked back at one of the armed men standing at the door. "So if there is _anyone_ in the house right now, come forward now. If not, your-"_

"_Touya," he offered._

"_-friend is going to die. You have twenty seconds."_

_The next twenty seconds surely had to be the longest of my life. But he made me swear to stay put, no matter what they said. My body was shaking, my jaw clenched so tightly it ached. I wanted to scream, run to him, do something. But I simply watched from the small crack in the cabinet door, stuffed comfortably under the sink while my brother was face-to-face with our enemy._

"_Time's up," the creature said quietly._

_I tried not to cry out. Normally in movies the bad guy made a long speech, giving the audience a chance to say goodbye. Of course, in movies the good guy would roundhouse kick the gun out of the bad guy's hand and win. But I didn't even get a chance to breathe before the bullet struck home, sending the only hope I had onto the wood floor with an inglorious thud._

"_No need to search," it said before walking out the door. Two of the men by the door took Touya's body quickly, shuffling out without even a hint of remorse._

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

I jolted awake. I was covered in sweat and my throat ached. The room was dark; of course, it was always dark. Nevertheless, it had to be around midnight. I sat up slowly, turning on my flashlight.

I wish it were just a dream. It was a memory- a horrifying, indescribable memory. After everything that had happened over the past two years, that memory was the only thing that made my blood run cold.

I slid on my boots and opened the door to the basement quietly. I needed fresh air; the last time I had been out was weeks ago. I left the house quickly.

The cold air was refreshing. I felt oddly safe as I walked down the street, pleased that no cars were passing. It was so rare that I could simply walk without constant fear.

For at least an hour I walked before turning around. I knew I had gone too far, into the residential area of the parasites, but it felt so _good._ My aching muscles soaked in the exercise gratefully. I was so tired of being cramped in that horrible house.

But of course, like any time I let my guard down these days, something had to go wrong.

I saw it walking down the sidewalk quickly, straight toward me. I knew he saw me by the way his shoulders tensed, walking more quickly towards me. I couldn't run; he'd follow me without a doubt. I kept walking normally, trying not to tense as he drew closer. My eyes were glued to the sidewalk. _Why_ did I have to walk so far?

We were feet away when he spoke. "Excuse me?"

I looked up from the sidewalk, heart beating out of my chest. My body felt numb as he looked at me slowly.

"Do you know what time it is?"

I looked down at my wrist slowly, not sure if I was glad to have a watch or not. "It's one fif-"

Suddenly he grabbed me, clamping a hand over my mouth quietly. "Make a sound and you'll regret it."

I closed my eyes and tried not to struggle as he carried me away from the street. This was my absolute worst nightmare coming true, all because I didn't like being stuck in a house.

I knew that this was crazy, just letting him carry me away like a sack of groceries. But I knew that trying to run would be the absolute _worst_ thing to do at this point. We were probably surrounded by their guards, who wouldn't be as nice as whoever-this-guy-is. The best thing I could do was keep my mouth shut and do whatever they say; hopefully they'd just shoot me.

"Are you serious?" I heard a voice say. I opened my eyes to see a huge man looking at me warily. "You had to get a girl."

The man holding me sighed, holding out a hand for something. The large one handed him a roll of duct tape. "It's not like I had much of a choice."

I had no idea what they were talking about. Why would it matter if I was a girl? I was a _human_, hiding from the parasites that took everything I ever had. Besides myself, up until this point.

"I can't hit a girl, no matter what she is." The large man rubbed his face. "I should have done this myself."

"What you should do," the man said impatiently, "is shut up." He taped my wrists together tightly behind my back. Of course, there was no need to do that. Maybe it just made him feel superior. "There's no need to knock her out, I don't think she's going to run."

The other man laughed. "You're quite compliant, aren't you?" he asked, looking at me smugly. "Maybe it's better with a girl. They'll do anything you say."

I wanted to punch him more than I wanted to run.

"Shut up," the other man said. "I don't want it angrier than it needs to be." He turned me toward him and slapped a piece of tape over my mouth. "There. Take it."

The large man smiled and swung me over his shoulder haphazardly. My scream was muffled with the tape, but it was still loud. The man sighed.

"Don't scare it, Nate."

The man carrying me mumbled an insult and began walking quickly. "You know, maybe _you_ should carry it if you're so concerned."

"That's why you _came._ Do you remember volunteering for this job? Because I do." Leaves crunched loudly as we moved farther away from home.

I was confused at this point. We should be going deeper into the city; that's where most survivors were taken if they were found.

"Shouldn't we blindfold it?" the large man asked quietly. "I mean, if it gets out, we could all be dead."

"That's why it _won't_ get out," the other man said impatiently. "After all, that's your job."

What would I get out of? The prison was impossible to get out of, even for parasites.

"But, like... what if it sends the others messages? They could come find us."

The man sighed heavily. "Parasites can't _send messages_ with their minds."

I took in a quick breath. They thought I was a _parasite?_ Why would they be taking...

No.

These guys weren't _humans._ They couldn't be. It... wasn't.

"Whatever. If we all die, it's _your_ fault." I heard the other one- _human_- sigh. This was both a dream and nightmare come true.

But mostly nightmare at this point, so I shut my eyes and waited for whatever was coming.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Hey!" a voice shouted, shaking me quickly. "Wake up."

I opened my eyes slowly. I was in a small room; a man sat in front of me frowning. "I can't believe it fell asleep."

I looked around quickly. There were two people behind the man in front of me. "Should I take the tape off?"

"Sure." I vaguely recognized the man that kidnapped me; I now saw his dark brown hair ruffled around his face haphazardly. He glared at me, arms folded over his chest tightly.

The strange man ripped the tape from my mouth quickly. Tears stung at my eyes as I tried not to scream. That was unnecessarily painful.

"Hi sweetie," the man said happily. "I'm Yama-"

"Don't tell it your name," the kidnapping man said, clearly annoyed. The woman to his right looked impassive, her long black hair tumbling down her back.

"Never mind. Okay, we need something from you. If we don't get it, you're... we just need it."

The man whispered something to the woman angrily. I made out "idiot". The woman whispered back, clearly frustrated.

My shoulders were aching. How long had it been since I got here? Wherever _here_ was, of course.

"Okay, move." The kidnapper shoved the other man out of his way. "Listen."

I was definitely listening.

"You disgusting freeloaders took one of us. Humans. We want him back, and you're going to help us." He paused. "Can you do that?"

I swallowed. My throat felt thick and dry. "You... made a mistake."

He looked at me incredulously. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I know you're not going to believe me. But I'm human."

He looked at me closely for a few seconds, then laughed. "I'm not an idiot."

I sighed. "I know. But even if I were... one of them, there's no way that you can get whoever you lost back. They're either dead of miles underground with no way of ever getting back up. If he's compliant they may even use him as a vessel. There's-"

"Shut up!" he yelled, shoving me against the wall. "Don't _do_ that. You're not fooling me. You might as well just give it up."

I looked at him silently. If I were him, I wouldn't believe me in a million years. But there had to be _some_ way to prove I was a human.

"Look," I said, lifting my shirt to expose my stomach. "No scars." I was filthy, and my stomach looked disgusting and bony from lack of food. But the obvious scars from parasite insertion were nowhere to be seen.

He looked down. "Mei Ling," he said softly. The woman was by his side immediately.

"Okay, what does that prove? Maybe they're faded by now." Nevertheless, his face was brighter, eyes hopeful. He _almost_ believed me.

"She wouldn't starve herself like this if she were a parasite," Mei Ling said quietly. "Unless she's anorexic."

"Parasites don't have eating disorders," the man said absentmindedly. He was staring at my stomach, looking for any hint of a scar. His hand reached out-

"Syaoran," the woman said quickly. He looked at her, eyebrows furrowed. "Don't."

"Sorry," he said, but I wasn't sure who he was apologizing to. "Get- get Tomoyo and have her... you know." His face was a light pink.

Mei Ling looked at him amusedly. "You don't blush easily."

He glared at her. "I'll get Tomoyo. Don't let her out of this room."

"She's not going anywhere." They both left quickly, the door shutting loudly. I looked around the room; it was boring, white walls and linoleum floor. There was a small bed in the corner.

After a few minutes, the door opened softly. "Hello?" a voice called. I looked up, seeing another woman with soft pale skin and gorgeous black hair falling effortlessly in waves. She looked oddly familiar.

Suddenly I realized who it was. "Daidouji Tomoyo?" I shouted.

She looked down at me, suddenly scared. "How do you know my name?" She asked quickly, walking back to the door. "Syaoran, come in."

He walked in quickly, eyes on Tomoyo. "What's going on?"

"I'm Sakura," I said quickly. "Kinomoto Sakura. We went to-"

Her eyes shot open, jaw dropping. "Sakura!" she screamed, running to me and hugging me tightly. "Oh my _gosh_, I can't believe you're here-"

"What the hell," Syaoran shouted. "is going on?"

Tomoyo stood up, beaming. "I know her!"

Syaoran looked unimpressed. "I figured." He looked to me again. "Tell me everything you know about her."

"Her name is Daidouji Tomoyo." I looked up. Tomoyo was beaming. "Uh, her mom is Sonomi, she owns a company... or did, I guess." Tomoyo still looked pleased. "She used to dress me up all the time."

Tomoyo glared at Syaoran. "If you don't believe _her,_ you don't believe _me. _And if you don't believe me I swear I'm leaving and taking Eriol with me. Then you'll starve to death and only have yourself to blame."

Syaoran looked down at me for a long time. Tomoyo pushed past him to the door. "You're eating _now,_" she said before running out.

He said nothing.

"So there's... no way to get to him?" he finally asked, still as a statue. I sighed.

"Not if they have him."

He looked away from me blankly. "How would you know?"

"They..." I paused, trying to put together what I needed to say. "They either take you or kill you. They took my parents and killed my brother. He doesn't have a chance against them." My voice cracked pathetically. I felt stupid.

He looked back at me. "How old are you?"

I paused. "Seventeen."

He didn't speak for a while. "...How long have you been seventeen?"

I looked up at him. "What?"

"Irrelevant." He walked to the wall opposite of me and sat down tiredly.

"Breakfast!" Tomoyo shouted, barging through the door gleefully. Completely unaware that no one else was feeling the same, she set a plate full of breakfast food in front of me. I took the fork she gave me and gratefully began eating. Tomoyo sat down beside me.

"Syaoran, you look sad. Do you want some breakfast?" She sighed. "Even though it's three in the morning."

He got up slowly, visibly bruised and aching. I couldn't help but wonder what happened to him. "I'm good, thanks. Make sure she's taken care of," he added before walking out of the room quietly.

Tomoyo sighed. "He's not normally so sad. He was just really close to the guy that got... taken." She looked down at the plate. "You are really hungry."

I set the fork down gently. "So he isn't going to kill me, is he?"

She let out a small laugh. "No. He knows what I'd do to him." She grinned. "I can't _believe_ you're here!"

I smiled wryly. "Neither can I."

"Oh Sakura," she said soothingly. "You _have_ to stay here. Well, you honestly don't have a choice in the matter, between me and Syaoran. He doesn't like people going out that have been in. Especially people he doesn't trust. No offense, of course."

I set the plate on the ground. "Sounds like fun."

"You are so _negative_," she said accusingly. "You should look on the bright side."

"What bright side?" I asked. I didn't see the bright side in this situation. "Well, I'm not dead. I guess that's a good thing."

Tomoyo grinned. "Exactly! See, it's not that bad." She looked at me again, a sly grin creeping across her face. "You know..."

I looked at her pleadingly. "No, Tomoyo. Please no."

"But _look_ at you!" she exclaimed, her long hair bouncing with an exaggerated sigh. "You're filthy, and your clothes are... ugh."

I looked at myself, quite aware of how filthy I was. But I wasn't in the mood for dress-up.

"...But it's three in the morning." I wriggled away from the wall and stood up. "And I'm really tired."

Tomoyo glared. "There is _no_ way you're getting your grimy self in the bed I just made."

I turned around slowly, taking a deep, long breath. Tomoyo's eyes were shining with happiness, because she _knew_.

"...Fine."

"COME ON." She dragged me by one arm out of the hallway, laughing maniacally. If I hadn't done this a thousand times, I would be scared for my life. But I wanted to sleep, and taking a bath wouldn't hurt.

The halls were a blur as we rushed toward who-knows-where, Tomoyo telling me things I couldn't understand about "tulle" and "heels" and "bust size". It made me nervous.

Finally she pushed a door open, revealing a medium-sized shower room overflowing with steam. "Go on," she said excitedly. "I'll be right outside when you're done. Towels are above the sink." With that she left me alone and extremely confused.

However, once I turned on the hot water I knew that everything in life was perfectly extraordinary. This was the best day of my life, I decided, while I rinsed off the seemingly permanent layer of stink from my scalding skin.

After what seemed like an eternity of bliss, I turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around my now freezing body. My hair smelled like strawberries, the first time it had smelled like anything other than personal odor in years.

I slowly opened the door to the hall, finding Tomoyo staring at a sketchpad, pencil tapping annoyed on the edge. She looked up at me and smiled. "Finally!" Jumping up from the ground, she grabbed my arm and dragged me around again. I was grateful when we stopped in front of another door, Tomoyo digging a key out of her pocket hastily. The door burst open and I groaned.

Somehow, Tomoyo had managed to stock a room full of fabric, a bulky-looking sewing machine in the far corner surrounded by every color thread I could imagine. Before I knew what was happening she was measuring me, noting quickly on her sketchpad. When she was done she threw me some clothes and went to her machine. I threw them on hastily and sat on the ground. This would be exhausting. My eyes closed involuntarily.

I woke up slowly to the sound of Tomoyo squealing excitedly. "Sakura, it's perfect!" she exclaimed, holding up... a bright pink party dress.

"Seriously, Tomoyo?" I asked. "We're not going to a party." I paused. Then realized what this meant.

"No."

Her smile widened.

"Please, no."

She laughed loudly, eyes glittering. I feared my life if I didn't comply with her. "Surprise!" she yelled. "Tonight, we're throwing you a party. I mean, what else could I do?"

"Making suitable clothes" came to mind, but I wasn't about to say anything. She was unstoppable when it came to this kind of thing.

"Okay, shoo. Go sleep or whatever. I have things to do." I looked at her incredulously. "Oh. Two rooms down on the right."

I sighed and walked out of the room, suddenly feeling very exposed. I walked two rooms down and opened the door slowly. Collapsing on the bed, I wrapped the blankets around my head tightly. Beds were wonderful things.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Wake up."

I opened my eyes slowly, Tomoyo looming over me happily. "It's time to get dressed!"

"Okay. Whatever." I stumbled out of the bed, wondering why I was getting up in the first place. My head felt like lead as she dragged me back down the hall.

Tossing me the dress, Tomoyo opened a huge armoire in one corner of the room. It was filled with accessories, and I had to wonder _how_ she managed to get all of this in here. "Oh, your hair looks awful," she chastised, grabbing a pair of black heels and setting them beside me. "Put it on!" she exclaimed, motioning to the dress.

I followed her commands quickly. She cut my hair like she used to, making me feel more myself. I had to give it to her, she made me look _normal_. After an eternity of grooming, Tomoyo finally seemed satisfied. She was dressed in a floor-length violet dress, her long hair pinned up expertly. "Oh, we're late," she said exasperatedly. "Come on."

I tried to keep up with her pace, but the heels she forced me into felt like I was on stilts. She was unfazed, of course, by her shoes that were taller than mine.

Suddenly the hall broke into a large living space, with gorgeous leather furniture seating a group of people.

"Everyone," Tomoyo shouted above their conversation. "This is Sakura."

A short pause followed. I looked at them nervously.

"...Who?"

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Merry Christmas, kids. I hope this keeps you entertained for at least a little bit while you're waiting to open presents.**


	2. New Grounds

**I feel kind of sad. This story only has like, 60-something hits so far. Maybe it's because it's the holidays, and I'm the only person without a social life. Which brings me to chapter 2.**

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

I had endured Tomoyo's insane-ness for so many years, and never had a party of hers been so awkward.

"Oh. Yeah. This is kind of a long story," she began.

My legs were wobbling uncontrollably. It was good to be a woman, because you could blame these things on your shoes.

"Why is there a _person_ here?" a man with strange blue-black hair said angrily. I cringed.

Tomoyo glared at him. "Eriol, I swear, if you don't shut up and let me-"

"_No_," the person screamed. "That's... that's a parasite!"

I shook my head. "No, no, I swear, no-"

He got up, pulling a gun out from behind him. "Tomoyo, get away from it."

"Tomoyo!" I shouted. But she was running to him, leaving me alone and totally dead.

"Sakura, I can't believe you lied to me," she said quietly. "Eriol."

He pointed the gun at me, laughing evilly-

-

I woke up screaming. Tomoyo was in front of me. "Sakura, you're okay."

I looked around quickly. We were in a familiar bedroom, alone. I took a deep breath and sank back into the bed I was on. Tomoyo combed through my hair, looking at me sadly.

"Sorry," I whispered. She smiled.

"It happens a lot around here." She handed me a set of clothes, baggy and _not_ pink. "From what I gathered from your sleep-talking, I threw you a party."

"It was awful," I groaned. "How did I get on the bed?"

"You fell asleep before I got back to the room... I think Syaoran just tossed you on the bed. Figured you'd be more comfortable." She smiled. "You'll love Syaoran. Once you get to know him, of course. He's not prone to kidnapping people."

"How'd you meet him?" I asked, sitting up. She laughed.

"That's a long story." Her eyes looked into mine. "Okay. I was... at a party."

"No surprise," I muttered.

"You had a cold, remember? Otherwise you would have been with me. But I was taking a break outside, and he came up to me, and he was really nice. So we stayed out there for most of the night. Then all of a sudden we see these like, two dozen cars pull up." Looking down quickly, she cleared her throat.

"He knew who they were, for some reason. I don't know. He's a genius. But he grabbed me, and we ran away as fast as we could. I didn't know why, but I trusted him with my life the second he took me with him. I mean, it's common sense to save yourself, but to save me when he didn't even _know_ me... I mean, he's amazing." She smiled.

"Okay, that wasn't very long."

"Well I'm not finished," she snapped. "We didn't spend a lot of time in town. We stopped by a store and got some supplies. I mean, we looked kind of suspicious in what we were wearing." She grinned. "I still have that dress somewhere. It's fantastic. Oh, but then we start backpacking through the forest, and he's like, a freaking boy scout with everything. That's when he told me about the parasites and everything. I had no clue, Sakura. I mean, if I would've known, I would-"

"It's fine. Keep going."

She sighed. "But he was awesome. He called a lot of people, telling them to hide with us. I mean, almost everyone that's here, he knew from before." She paused. "I think that's why he's really wary about letting you stay here. It's nothing against you." Tomoyo smiled.

"So he called all these people, and we all met at this old factory. Like, huge metal, chainsaw kind of thing. It was weird, but we did what we could. The guys decked it out with locks and traps and stuff, and we all slept in this tiny room together. There were... eleven of us. Yeah. It was perfect for a few months.

"Then they came. It was awful. We couldn't stay, everyone knew that. Syaoran already had another spot ready for us, which is here. I rode with two other girls there, and five of the guys stayed back to grab everything. I was worried sick." Her voice shook, and I saw tears in her eyes. "I thought they were all... you know.

"But a few days later, there he was. I mean, couldn't get a hold of myself. I cried for days. It didn't help that I had a huge crush on him." Tomoyo choked a little, laughing through her tears. "He said three of the guys were gone. I was just glad it wasn't him.

"We've been here ever since. I also grew out of the crush. Trust me." She swept her eyes quickly. "And then Glenn... The guy that got lost. He was one of the only guys that survived the first attack." She paused. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't devastated. I knew him for so long, and to just lose him so easily... Syaoran's more upset than me. More than I could imagine. Like the way I felt when I thought I lost you." She sniffled.

I smiled. "You didn't lose me. Plus, I had Touya."

She looked relieved. "Good. I mean, we were only kids when it happened."

"We still are kids, Tomoyo." I rolled my eyes. "I'm seventeen. I mean, come on. Why couldn't I at least be a legal adult? I feel like a baby."

She laughed. "I forgot you were seventeen. No, you don't understand. It's the best sympathy weapon here. Of course, I told everyone that I was eighteen when I first met them. ...Don't _look_ at me like that! I was at a _party_, Sakura. You're supposed to be eighteen to get in! Ugh." Her long hair shook in aggravation. "But you can use it to make everyone feel sorry for you. You were fifteen when they took over! Poor baby," she cooed, touching my face.

I groaned. "Yes, because I need everyone to feel sorry for me, not to take me _seriously._"

"No one gets taken seriously around here. Except me, because I carry a wooden spoon around." She pulled it out, making a beating gesture. "It's very effective."

I remained silent, rolling out of the bed. "What time is it?"

She looked down. "Noon. Oh my gosh!" she screamed, jumping off the bed. "Let me give you a tour!"

"Tomoyo," I groaned, putting on the new clothes. "Can I at least clean myself up?"

She nodded. "Then tour. You need to meet everyone." When she saw my face she smiled. "No party, I swear."

I winced. "Please no parties."

"Come on," she groaned, dragging me out the door behind her.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"So it's really cool," Tomoyo said cheerfully, "how this works. Right now we're underground, right? This hotel that we're under had this thing where their staff could stay underground instead of getting an apartment or something. And the outside of this place is awful, so people rarely come here." She walked me through the kitchen, which looked like a small cafeteria. "It's perfect."

"Wait. People _rarely_ come? As in parasites actually stay here sometimes?" I said.

She grinned sheepishly. "We get paid?"

I sighed, just grateful that they had working showers. I felt amazingly clean, yet somehow naked. It was like peeling off a layer of dirt-skin.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. We were alone, but that wouldn't last for long. She did seem genuinely invested in my comfort, though, so I couldn't be too annoyed with her.

"Yeah." There was no denying it when my stomach growled loudly. She dragged me behind the counter where food was served to a huge pantry. Despite the size, there was barely any food.

"Syaoran and some guys will have to go on a raid later," Tomoyo said absentmindedly. "Oh, here," she said, throwing me an apple. I ate it quickly.

"Let me show you the living room," she said pleadingly. "There will only be a few people in there right now, I promise. Mostly everyone is working."

"Working?" I asked, tossing the apple core into a trash can. "What do you guys do down here?"

She looked thoughtful. "There's gardening- that's where you got your apple from- laundry, garbage... I mean, normal chores and stuff. Oh, then we have training. Like, fighting and conditioning. To keep us in shape." She flexed her arm, laughing. "Some of us more than others."

I smiled. "I can help, right?"

"Be my guest," she said. "Ugh, I'm exhausted right now. I haven't been sleeping well." She leaned against the counter and sighed.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I heard footsteps come into the kitchen; immediately Tomoyo straightened up and smiled. "Who's there?" she called.

A large man came around the corner grinning. I recognized him as the other guy that kidnapped me. His hair was cut close to his head, but I could still tell that it was a dark blond. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties. When he came closer, I saw his eyes were a gorgeous shade of dark blue. "Hi," he said happily.

"Nate, this is- oh, okay, you know her. Sakura, this is Nate." She returned to leaning against the counter.

"I'm sorry about the misunderstanding," he said quietly to me. "But can I make sure you're not... one of them? I mean, I don't want anyone messing with my family." His eyes were swimming with curiosity.

I nodded, lifting up my shirt to reveal my stomach. He walked toward me and pinned me to the wall. I looked over to Tomoyo; she was digging in a cabinet for something, back turned to us.

"That's nice," he said lowly, touching my stomach. I gasped quickly. Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, he leaned in closer to me. My eyes widened.

"NATE!" Tomoyo screamed, throwing her spoon at him. Immediately he backed away from me, laughing hysterically. She pushed him out of the kitchen, yelling at him when they were out the door. After a bit of screaming and apologies she walked back in angrily. "He is such a-"

"Don't worry about it," I said shakily. I mean, at least now he didn't want to kill me.

"You know," she said, "Once you reject him enough, he'll be fine."

I took a deep breath. I had never been kissed, considering the whole alien takeover when I was fifteen, and Touya before that. And now this guy that I didn't even know was all _touchy_ the first time I meet him. I felt violated.

"Come on," Tomoyo said softly. "Let me show you the living room."

I nodded. She dragged me around hastily, clearly still mad with Nate. I tried to remember where everything was, passing in a blur. Eventually we walked into a large room that looked a lot like a coffee shop. There were a lot of different chairs and tables, all arranged in small groups.

"Do you like it?" she asked. "I mean, I decorated it myself, so there's no way you couldn't like it."

"I do," I said truthfully. It reminded me of her in a strange way. I saw three people talking in the corner, engrossed in their conversation. Hopefully Tomoyo didn't see them.

"Guys!" she called, running over to them. "I want you to meet Sakura."

So much for that idea. Tomoyo could sense a social event from a mile away.

"Yeah, Syaoran told us about her," one girl said. "Nice to meet you, Sakura. I'm Naoko." I looked up at her. She had shoulder length brown hair and large glasses.

"Hi," I muttered. I felt like the nerdy exchange student that people were forced to meet by the teacher.

"I'm Eriol," the only man said. He had blue hair and glasses. To be honest, he freaked me out.

I nodded.

"I'm Mei Ling," the last woman said. "Xiao- Syaoran's cousin. I'm glad you can stay with us," she said cheerfully. Her black hair was pulled tightly into a bun. She looked incredibly dangerous.

"Hi."

"So who's going tonight?" Tomoyo asked, sitting down. I sat in a squishy blue chair, feeling uncomfortable.

Eriol sighed. "Me, Nate, Yamazaki, and Mei Ling. I know," he said, seeing Tomoyo's face. "She _insisted_ on going in Syaoran's place. He's staying to look after you guys." He groaned, putting his head on the table. "He is _pissed._"

"You know what? He can't be going out when he's so depressed. He's irrational." Mei Ling sat back in her chair.

"He doesn't need to be sitting around doing nothing," Naoko said. "You know he needs to do something or he'll go completely insane."

"What convinced him to let her go?" Tomoyo asked. Mei Ling looked away guiltily.

"Don't ask," Naoko whispered. I looked around inquisitively.

"No," Tomoyo said. "You're kidding me."

Eriol laughed dryly. I was extremely confused.

"Sakura, do you want to help with dinner?" Tomoyo asked, getting up. "It's almost five. We should start cooking."

I nodded, following her back to the kitchen. When we got there she motioned me into the pantry and closed the door.

"Let me explain. Syaoran and Mei Ling are what keep us together, but they can't even speak without it ending in an argument. Mei Ling is always going to drastic measures to get her way, and lately she's been threatening to walk out and turn herself into the parasites." She paused, rolling her eyes.

"We all know she's bluffing, but Syaoran's an idiot and does whatever she wants anyway. He can't afford to lose anyone right now, or ever again, and she's using his emotions to get her way."

I nodded. "Why did you have to take me to the pantry to talk about it?"

"Because their whole family is very touchy. As in she would probably beat me up if she found out I was making fun of her," she said, grinning.

"Is that a joke?" I asked. This whole system of relationships was perplexing.

"No," she said. "I don't want you in a room alone with Mei Ling for a _long_ time."

I nodded in confusion. "So-"

"Shh," she whispered. I heard someone outside the pantry.

"What's going on in the pantry?"

Tomoyo stood up quickly and pulled me up beside her. "Syaoran, do you need something?"

He opened the door suspiciously. "Why is the door closed?" he asked, peeking in. A moment of awkward silence followed. I coughed.

"Because Nate assaulted Sakura earlier," Tomoyo glowered. "We're hiding. You know, it would be nice if he could stay upstairs and actually do his job."

Syaoran sighed, looking at Tomoyo seriously. "Was it bad?"

"Yes," she whispered. "Sakura is mentally scarred for life."

"Honestly," I interrupted, "I don't think he meant any harm."

"If you knew what he really meant, you'd have locked yourself in a closet by now."

"I'll talk to him," Syaoran muttered, turning to walk away. "I'm sorry," he said before closing the door.

Tomoyo smiled. "See how nice he is."

"Thank you."

She blushed, grabbing a few cans of soup off the shelf. "Come on, we need to start dinner."

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"They'll love you, Sakura," Tomoyo said encouragingly. "I promise."

I took a deep breath. I didn't _want _to meet anyone.

"Hey, go get me a loaf of bread," she said, stirring a giant pot of soup. I walked to the pantry, looking around on the barren shelves.

"Well, where is she?" a voice asked. I heard a lot of people come into the kitchen and my heart began to race. What if they didn't believe me? What if someone shot me? What if they stoned me to death?

"Sakura!" Tomoyo called. "How long does it take to find bread? There's like, two other things in that stupid pantry."

I came out slowly, cradling the bread to my chest. Tomoyo dragged me forward to meet around a dozen people crowded around the counter.

"Hi," Eriol said, grabbing a bowl on the end and helping himself to the soup. Glad to know at least one person, I smiled hesitantly.

"Nice to meet you, Sakura," a girl with pigtails said. "I'm Chiharu."

"Hi," I squeaked.

"Sakura was never the most outgoing person," Tomoyo said. "Especially when it came to meeting new people."

"I believe we met," a low voice said, making his way to the front.

"Nate, get _out_ of my kitchen! Go find your own food!" Tomoyo screamed, throwing the soup-covered ladle in his direction. "I _mean_ it, you-"

"Tomoyo, calm down," I said, touching her shoulder.

Nate looked at her apologetically. "Please let me stay."

She sighed. "Go sit in the corner. No one wants to sit by you anyway."

He looked to me and smiled faintly. "Sakura, I'm sorry about what I did earlier. I was just so... happy that a girl so beautiful is going to be staying. Plus, I am totally drunk right now-"

"Go away," Tomoyo groaned, shoving a bowl in his hand.

He waved and went to sit in the corner. I wasn't surprised that Tomoyo had so much control around here.

"Sakura, I'm Yamazaki," another man said, grinning with his eyes closed. "I'm so happy that we found you. I mean, what are the chances?"

"Syaoran just took the prettiest girl he found, apparently," another man said. I blushed.

"No, it was late and no one else was out-"

"She's seventeen, Jordan," Tomoyo growled. "Do I need to remind you that what you are trying to do is illegal?"

A small wave of silence passed through the group of people surrounding the counter.

"You poor thing," one man said.

She smiled.

I nodded, biting into a slice of bread. Eriol's mouth was wide open in shock.

"So you were only fifteen when they..." he began. I looked at the floor.

Suddenly there were people behind the counter patting my head and hugging me in a tangle of appendages. I looked around in a panic, wondering what they were trying to do.

"Tell me if you need to talk," one man said.

"Poor baby," another girl cooed.

"It's alright now," Chiharu whispered.

"Uh, thank you." I clawed my way out of their grabby hands and sighed. "Tomoyo, I'm tired."

"Come here," Jordan said, picking me up in his arms. "Where should I put her?"

"Aaah," I groaned.

"Let me get her some food," Naoko said. "You can eat it in bed if you want."

"No offense to anyone," I yelled over their bantering, "but I'd really just like to go to bed."

Jordan set me down quickly, his sandy blond hair tickling my face. "Let me show you to the bedrooms."

"Everyone _out of my kitchen!_" Tomoyo screamed. "Out!"

They walked to the other side of the counter slowly, petting my face or touching my shoulder before leaving. I let out a sigh of relief before sitting on the edge of the counter.

"That was a bit more of a reaction than I expected," she muttered. "Once you eat something I'll show you back to your room. Hi Syaoran."

Syaoran smiled and grabbed a bowl. "Why is everyone so worked up?"

Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "Babying Sakura."

He laughed. "She's something new. When's the last time anything changed around here?"

I looked to Tomoyo. She sighed. "Could you take Sakura back to her room? It's the... vacant one."

He nodded, downing the soup quickly. "Come on." His voice was stressed.

"Bye," I whispered to Tomoyo before following Syaoran down the hall and through different rooms. I recognized the living room as we passed it in silence.

"Here," he said, motioning to a door to the right. I smiled and opened it to find Nate in the bed on the opposite side of the room.

"Are we roommates?" he said happily, bouncing off the bed. Syaoran shut the door immediately.

"Change of plans," he said quietly. I followed him farther down the hall.

He unlocked the room at the end of the hall. "You can stay here for tonight. Tomorrow we'll get you a room with someone else. Preferably not Nate."

I walked in behind him. It looked like a normal bedroom, with a blue plaid comforter over a huge... _squishy_-looking... bed. I tried to restrain myself from throwing myself onto it the second I saw it.

"Thanks," I mumbled. He smiled faintly and walked out of the room.

"Sleep well," he said before closing the door behind him.

The second the door closed I jumped on the bed gleefully. It was just as comfy as I imagined it would be, and it smelled _amazing._ Like... cologne. And the woods. I let out a blissful moan before crawling under the covers and falling asleep instantly.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Figures surrounded me, hissing and yelling. I tried to escape, but every time I moved, more poured around me. Slowly they closed in on me, whispering my name-_

I screamed myself awake, rolling off the bed and ungracefully smacking my head straight onto the linoleum floor.

"Aagh!" someone yelled. I twisted around to see Syaoran slumped against the door, woken up by my screaming and falling.

"What- hi," I yelled. Clearing my throat, I stood up with as much dignity as I could. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Syaoran muttered. He stumbled away from the door slowly. "I forgot you were in here."

"Oh. Is this... your room?"

"Yeah." He looked like he had been up all night. I felt guilty for taking his amazing bed.

"Oh. Thank you." I walked to the door quickly. Before I could leave he grabbed my wrist.

Panicking, I turned to face him. He looked at me with baggy eyes and adorably ruffled hair. His dark eyes were wide open; I couldn't look at them for more than a few seconds. My gaze relocated to his chin.

"Do you need a hug?" he asked quietly.

I felt like laughing. What kind of guy asks that kind of thing? Then I looked at his eyes again and realized he was totally serious. I also realized how attractive he was.

I nodded.

He pulled me in closer, resting his head on my shoulder gently. Without thinking, I smiled. He smelled like his bed. He wasn't as squishy, but I guess that was a good thing.

When I tried to pull away, he didn't move. I moved my arms from my side to his back slowly. We stood in silence for a few minutes.

"Feel better?" he asked, pulling away. Still smiling, I nodded.

"Bye," I said hoarsely, walking out the door.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Sigh. And happy 2010!**


	3. Acquaintances

**Yay, right?**

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

I closed the door behind me and sighed. After a long pause, I continued down the hall to find Tomoyo.

"Sakura!" a girl called from around the corner, running to meet me. "My name's Chiharu, if you don't remember. It's fine if you don't, I mean, I really don't care." She grinned. "Tomoyo told me to find you. Where were you? I checked _everywhere_."

"Uh."

"Oh well, I found you. Come on!" She took my hand and ran down the hall. Trying not to trip, I followed her energetic pigtails to the kitchen.

Tomoyo was hunched over a pot when we arrived, cursing vividly. Chiharu moved her hands as if to cover my ears, then noticed her subconscious movement and quickly dropped them.

"Oh, Sakura." Tomoyo set the lid back on the can and ran around the counter. "I need you to... Chiharu, thanks. Bye."

The other girl glowered and walked away dejectedly. Tomoyo took me around behind the counter. "I need you to talk to Syaoran."

My face fell. "Why?"

"Because he's not talking to anyone else." She stroked my face thoughtfully. "And you're cute."

"But I don't want to talk to him."

She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, just talk about the weather or something. Not like the weather matters when you're underground, but that's irrelevant."

"Why don't you go talk to him?"

"Because," she glowered, "as I already said, _he's not talking to anyone else._" She paused. "I wouldn't be asking you if I hadn't tried."

I groaned. "But he's freaking boring. And quiet. What's his problem, anyways? He's all... _sullen_." Thinking back on it, I had never seen him smile or laugh in the (extremely short) amount of time I'd been around him.

Tomoyo folded her arms across her chest and took an exasperated breath. "Sakura, I know you've lost your family. It's like, the worst feeling in the universe." She paused, searching for words. "All of us are family here, and Syaoran took the responsibility of keeping us safe a really long time ago. He just lost one of his brothers, and he has to let more of his family into the same danger without his protection right now. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he went crazy." She looked back at me. "You understand what he's going through, right? I mean, no one else here was... with their family when all of this happened. And as I already said, you're cute."

I processed what she said slowly. Of course she made sense; Tomoyo had always been a persuasive speaker. But the thought of having to _talk_ to him... was weird. The past few days had been kind of crazy already. Add talking to the opposite sex... it's not such a good idea.

"Sakura, you're a big girl. Leave me with my soup." Tomoyo stood up and focused her attention back to lunch or dinner or whatever-it-was. I suspected she wouldn't be checking back up on me for a while, obviously letting me make my own decisions.

With a giant guilt-trip attached.

A reluctant sigh escaped my lips as I left the kitchen and searched for the inane man. Tomoyo and her guilt.

Obviously, my sense of direction was a little obscure, seeing as I'd spent a day here. After finding the living room out of luck, I vetoed the search for a while and slouched into a chair.

My only question was what people _did_ all day. I mean, this couldn't be too big of a living space. Despite that everyone seemed to disappear until meals. Of course, I was used to being alone; I hadn't known anything different for over a year, if not two. Now, after thinking I would be totally alone in that stupid basement for the rest of my life, I was in the middle of a civilization- or as Tomoyo put it, family- with only an extremely vague idea why any of us were there in the first place.

Although I had only gotten up an hour or so ago, I fell asleep in a giant red bean-bag chair. It felt like I slept for hours before someone grabbed my shoulder, causing me to throw a fist in their direction before waking up and tumbling backwards.

"_Ugh_," a voice groaned.

I felt my heart beating quickly out of my chest. Remembering where I was, I got up from the floor and walked to the person that woke me.

A man I didn't know winced and stood up, clutching his stomach. "Sakura, I admire your strength, but that was less than necessary."

"Sorry," I said softly. "I don't sleep well."

"Not many people do here, I guess." He took a deep breath. "Well, I won't have to worry about Nate anymore."

"What does that mean?"

He smiled. "Dinner's ready, if you want to meet everyone formally. I mean, getting attacked yesterday isn't how we normally greet people. Come on." He started walking away slowly, clearly not in a hurry. I followed him, suddenly aware of the grimy sweatpants and oversized t-shirt I wore. Introductions were never good for me.

The kitchen was full of people. They were all talking amongst themselves when we walked in, then all attention was on me.

He turned to me. "Normally Syaoran would introduce you, but he doesn't really know you. So you get Tomoyo."

Tomoyo, looking thrilled, walked up from behind me. "This is so exciting, right? You getting accepted and all."

I took a breath. "Is this like, important? I thought everyone already met me."

She laughed. "It's kind of a huge deal. We're voting you in." I then noticed her extremely-nice-looking business suit.

"...Shouldn't I be in better clothes?" I sighed. I hadn't touched my hair since yesterday.

Tomoyo narrowed her eyes. "_Someone_ wouldn't let me make you anything."

"Okay, you have a tendency to go a little out of control, right? I'm just saying that-"

"_Sit down,_" she hissed. The man ran away quickly to the other corner of the room.

"Okay. Just... look cute." Tomoyo stepped in front of me and smiled. "Hey everyone. So I know you've all met Sakura... some more than others." A glare made its way to Nate, sitting close to the front and smiling placidly. "Anyways, I've known her since we were really little, and if any of you don't believe me, I'll drive you out of here myself. I mean, I've been... Sorry. Back on my point. Sakura is the sweetest, cutest, most pathetically underage girl I know, and I'll never leave her again." She looked at me and smiled. I couldn't help but return it.

"That's true, but I still don't know who she is. No offense, of course," Naoko said, smiling hesitantly.

Tomoyo shrugged. "Sakura?"

"Yeah."

"...Story."

I stared at her blankly. "What do you mean?"

She sighed." 'Hi, my name is Sakura. My parents were killed when I was fifteen-' That kind of thing."

I stood silently for a moment before registering the information and taking a deep breath.

"Hi."

A ripple of "hi"s went through the room.

"I'm... Tomoyo, you know I'm a bad public speaker."

"Oh my gosh. Just talk."

"Uh. Well, when I was little I lived in Tomoeda. That's where I met Tomoyo. Then when I was thirteen we moved to Tokyo. I mean, my dad got a job offer and my brother was in college and stuff, so it made sense- uh, so we lived here for a couple years. One time Touya came home unexpectedly-"

"Touya is her brother," Tomoyo interrupted.

"...Yeah. He came home because he heard about some sort of... thing. I mean, we all know what it is now. But anyways, we started making preparations and stuff in our basement. I didn't know what any of it was for, because of course, no one bothered telling me. Then Touya got this _awesome_ video game, and we played it in there all the time. Then apparently there was something wrong with our rooms, like a gas leak or whatever, so we had to sleep in the basement..."

Having never noticed how much trouble my family went through to keep me safe, I felt my throat tighten.

"...Uh." I looked down, tears hitting the floor quietly. I took a long pause, waiting for my voice to return to its normal octave.

"One night there was banging on the door. We hid in this tiny place behind the stairs... I thought he did something to make our dad mad or something. But the next morning Dad didn't come down like he normally did to give us breakfast. That's when he told me everything."

I sniffed quickly, feeling my cheeks burning. Tomoyo looked at me with heartbroken eyes.

"Then, uh... we... lived there for a couple more years. We barely ever got to leave, but when we did it was awesome. They didn't take any of our candy down to the basement, so when we went upstairs I ate bags of it. One night he let me sleep in my old bed, which was amazing. He stayed up all night. But uh, one time he went up without me, telling me to stay, and I followed him...That was the... uh, the night when..."

I couldn't see through my tears, but at that point I didn't really care as much.

"The only thing he asked me never to do was go outside. We had everything we needed there, and I did anyways. Then I got- _kidnapped_-" I wiped my face quickly. "-and I thought, 'great, I'm going to die, and Touya's going to kill me,' but of course he couldn't... because..." I looked up at Tomoyo. "I miss him."

Finally she gave in, grasping me in a bear hug and putting my head on her shoulder. It took every shred of my control to keep from weeping.

She slowly pulled away. "Sorry. Everyone in favor of keeping Sakura here."

I looked up to see everyone's hands up, looking at me with desolate faces. I could only imagine their babying thoughts.

"All not in favor. Great. Let's get you to bed."

"I'LL CARRY HER."

"I swear, Nate, if you say another word-"

Syaoran sighed and swept me up like I weighed five pounds, following a seething Tomoyo into the hall.

"-at least give her some space, but _no_. We have to act like she's freaking six years old. I mean, really? She's seventeen. I remember when I was seventeen, and everyone thought I was way older than I was." Her heels clicked on the linoleum impatiently. "Sorry. Are you alright, Sakura?"

I nodded slowly. I hated being carried because it left nowhere for your hands to go except around the carrier's neck or awkwardly in your lap. Needless to say my hands sat awkwardly in my lap.

My head also felt awkward. I didn't want to lean on his chest or anything. That was infinitely more awkward than holding it up myself, which was pretty awkward.

Awkwardawkwardawkward.

"-audacity of him just makes me want to hit something. Who does he think he _is_? I can understand-"

What if I was sweaty? Was I getting my sweat all over him? Breathing was awkward. I could feel his breath.

"-if you'd let me." She paused. "Do you think she heard that? Sakura, if you did, I was joking."

I opened my eyes, not really noticing that they closed. Or that my head drifted onto Syaoran's shoulder. "What?"

"Good. Go back to sleep."

I closed my eyes again.

"That wasn't a joke," she muttered.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Tomoyo willingly moved me into her room, having nowhere else to put me except with Nate. Syaoran left to get us all dinner, and Tomoyo moved onto the bed beside me.

"Tomorrow we're going to get you in a normal schedule. I think it'll make you feel a lot better."

I nodded, grateful for any normality at this point. "So Tomoyo..."

"Yeah?"

"Does... Syaoran know? About you being seventeen."

She laughed. "I never told him, but he's figured it out by now. I just don't want to admit that I'm so young."

"I can see why."

Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "That'll get better, I promise. I bet in a month nobody will even notice when you enter the room."

"We're not that young, are we?"

"No way. I think people are just excited to have something new. Nothing's changed for a while, you know? Well, nothing's changed for the good."

Syaoran stumbled in with a tray loaded with food. Tomoyo immediately got up and helped him, obviously more skilled when it came to handling food. I ate ravenously, glad not to be under a microscope for once.

When we finished, Syaoran took the bowls and stood up quietly.

"Wait," I mumbled.

He turned around silently.

After this I had no strategy. I don't even know why I said it. The word just propelled out of my mouth before I had the chance to stop it. And now he was standing, looking at me, waiting for me to finish.

"...I'm scared."

Tomoyo stifled a laugh beside me. Syaoran smiled, setting the tray by the door and returning to the bed. "Scared of what?"

"....The dark." I might as well play up the whole "young and pathetic" thing.

He hesitated, confused. "Do you want me to turn the light on?"

"It could turn off again." Bull.

"...How?"

"It just could, Syaoran," Tomoyo said, stroking my hair. "You should stay for a little bit."

He looked back at me. "Would that help you feel better?"

I nodded.

"All right," he sighed.

Tomoyo smiled. "I miss department stores."

"I miss hotels," Syaoran said.

"What do you miss, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked.

I looked at her. "I miss houses."

She smiled. "I miss McDonald's."

"I miss grass."

"I miss sunlight."

"I miss summer."

"I don't miss summer school."

"You went to summer school?" Tomoyo asked.

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "In ninth grade I had to go because I broke my leg."

"How would that make you go to summer school?" I asked.

He sighed. "Vicadin."

"Remember when Eriol broke his leg?" Tomoyo grinned. "He cried for three days, I swear."

Syaoran laughed. "All we had was expired Benadryl."

"I didn't feel sorry for him. It was his fault."

"No it wasn't, he tripped over a broom!"

"He _danced_ into a broom trying to impress Naoko."

I watched the two of them quietly, looking more like a brother and sister than two people that ran across each other. I also saw Syaoran's other side, which wasn't reserved or depressed. He looked genuinely happy as Tomoyo insulted him.

"Why don't you do anything to your hair? It's just this growth on your head-"

"You know you love it," he smirked back, shoving her hand off his head.

"You should just shave your head."

"Right. Because _that _would look better than my hair now."

"Roadkill would look better than your hair now, honestly."

He paused. "What time is it?"

Tomoyo checked her watch quickly. "Seven twenty."

"Nate's going to kill me," he muttered, jumping off the bed and throwing his shoes back on. "See you guys tomorrow," he shouted, running down the hall.

"Where is he going?" I asked.

"Oh, guard shift. You know, someone has to stay upstairs all the time, just in case. It's no big deal." She sighed and kicked her heels into an empty corner of the room. "You tired?"

I nodded. "Syaoran seemed happier tonight, right?"

She laughed. "Yeah, what was with that? 'I'm scared of the dark'? You really couldn't think of anything else."

"You know I'm bad at that kind of stuff." I watched her step into the adjoining bathroom and come out in pajamas.

"I know." She sat beside me again. "All joking aside, thank you for saying something."

I smiled and crawled under the covers. She crossed the room to her bed and turned off the lamp silently.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

I woke up on the floor. Tomoyo was slumped in the corner holding her nose.

"Sakura," she spat through blood, "_please_ stop doing that."

I grabbed the box of tissues and handed them to her apologetically. She glared at me, but took the box.

"Did I break it?" I whispered.

"No," she sighed. "But we need to get you some help if you ever want a boyfriend."

I looked up at her. "Do you guys do that here? Like..."

"Well, not technically. I mean, when we're getting stuff out there, birth control isn't something anyone's willing to risk their life for. Okay, most people. And we don't need anyone pregnant either, so... I don't know." She sniffed. "Ugh, this is disgusting."

"Sorry," I muttered.

"Okay. Let's get you to work." She walked to her closet and pulled out a shirt and shorts, tossing them to me. "Today you're going to follow around Rika."

"What does Rika do?"

"Cleaning!" Tomoyo said cheerfully. "Along with a few other people. We rotate every couple weeks. Well, I don't. I just cook."

"Can I just cook?"

"No. I'm special." She threw me a pair of tennis shoes and smiled. "You look so cute."

I looked down at myself and grimaced. "You're not helping the whole 'kid' thing."

"You'll be fine." Tomoyo tied her hair back quickly. "Come on."

We passed the living room and kitchen into places that I had never been, even in my pointless search for Syaoran. Tomoyo opened the door to a large closet housing Rika and another guy.

"Hey Tomoyo, Sakura," Rika said cheerfully. "We're trying to find the sponges, do you know where they are?"

"Third shelf," Tomoyo said quickly. "I can just leave her with you guys?"

"Yeah, we could use the help." She smiled. "Sakura, this is Stephen."

Stephen smiled and held out a hand. "Nice to meet you."

I shook his hand and smiled back. His black hair swept over his eyes apathetically.

"So if you could just grab this mop-" Rika said, handing the monstrosity to me. "Great. All right, let's start with the living room."

I spent the day mopping floors while Rika and Stephen dusted and did other oddball jobs. They continually asked me if I was okay, or if I needed a break, or if I wanted to switch jobs with them. I had a feeling that Tomoyo forced the job on me.

While working, I learned that Stephen was the newest addition, excluding me. He had found the building by accident, wandering around on the streets.

"I saw them coming back from a raid," he said, emptying a trash bag out. "It looked a little suspicious, and I was about to die anyway, so I thought 'what the heck' and followed them here." He looked happy enough discussing this, probably because of how lucky he was.

"The only thing I regret is wasting my life in business school. It's not like anyone's going to want a lawyer down here." His gaze lingered on the trash he held and a sigh escaped his lips.

"You might be surprised," Rika interjected. "Syaoran and Meiling get at it a lot. You could probably be of use."

"What about you, Rika?" I asked, curiosity taking the best of me.

She rolled her eyes. "I was in college. I know Yamazaki worked at some big-shot company. He and Syaoran worked together for a few years, that's how they met."

Stephen wiped off a coffee table slowly. "What about Tomoyo? I never hear her talk about herself."

Rika thought for a moment. "You know, she never mentioned it before."

"This room looks done, right?" I interrupted.

She looked around. "Yeah, I think we're done." Rika sighed and wiped her hands with a clean cloth. "Lunch."

I tossed the mop with the rest of our cleaning supplies and followed Stephen to the kitchen. Tomoyo looked unnaturally happy, humming an unrecognizable tune as she diced vegetables. When she looked up to see us she grinned.

"Hey guys! It's almost done." She tossed the vegetables in a frying pan and motioned for me to come over to her.

I slid behind the counter, already feeling sore from working. She grabbed my arm and dragged me into the pantry, shutting the door violently behind us.

"Have you seen Syaoran today?" she asked while fidgeting with my messy hair. "I bet you haven't. He's _smiling,_ Sakura. He's happy."

I looked back at her. "Yay?"

She shook my shoulders violently. "You made him go back to normal, Sakura! Look happier!"

"But it's not because of _me._ I mean, he could be happy because it's Monday, or-"

"AAH!" she shouted abruptly. "They're coming back today!"

I was done trying to listen to her. Unlocking the pantry door, I started to walk out before she ran over me and leaped across the kitchen counter. Rika shouted and ran after her with empty plate in hand.

After standing perplexed for a few moments, I walked to the stove and stirred Tomoyo's neglected vegetables. Stephen pulled up a chair and watched me from the other side noiselessly.

"Do you know what that was about?" he asked.

"No idea."

He grabbed a slice of green pepper out of the pan and cooled it off. "It's nice having someone else who's just as clueless as I am."

A calm silence followed as I kept lunch from burning. Stephen helped by eating half of it from the pan. Nevertheless, he was good company and didn't complain that I didn't know what I was doing.

"No, put those over the rice," he guided. After watching my failed attempts for a few minutes, he jumped over the counter and did it himself.

"See, this goes on the top since-"

"SAKURA!"

I screamed and backed into Stephen, knocking us both on the ground. He groaned painfully.

"SAKURA!"

I rolled off him awkwardly. "...Sorry."

He stared up at me despairingly, opened his mouth as if to say something, then groaned and closed his eyes.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo pulled me off the ground. "Come on!" She looked to Stephen laying on the ground and sighed.

"Sakura, really. I can't even name everyone you've injured so far."

"_Please_ go get somebody," he moaned angrily. "Seriously."

"What, did you break your face or something?" Tomoyo rolled her eyes and began to drag me away.

"Wait, this is my fault anyways." I knelt down beside him and Tomoyo followed me unwillingly.

"It's scary how strong you are," she muttered as Stephen sighed.

"I _fell_ on my right arm." He motioned to his arm bent in an ominous direction.

"Ugh." Tomoyo stood up. "I'm getting Naoko." She walked away quickly, leaving me alone with the possibly-broken-armed-guy. Which was undoubtedly my fault.

"...Do you want some ice-?"

"No." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Do you want some rice?"

He opened his eyes and looked at me scornfully. "...Yes."

I carefully stepped over him and filled a bowl with rice and vegetables. He watched me as I sat back down and began to hand it to him.

"...Right." I loaded some onto a spoon and sighed. He glared at me, opening his mouth slowly. Thus began my humiliation.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Finally finished.**


	4. Mistakes

**Yay?**

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

I couldn't help but feel sorry for myself as I sat on the floor alone, feeding a man whose arm I most likely broke.

"Sorry," I said again. And again.

"I know," he muttered again.

I really was sorry. I guess he didn't find my apologies too sincere.

"Hey, at least now you won't have to do chores or anything for a couple weeks."

Stephen gave me a look that seemed to say I'm-not-fourteen-so-I-don't-really-care.

"And people will be nicer to you. Not like they aren't already, because you're a nice person, and people are nice to nice people. But they'll be nicer to you because you're injured."

After an awkward moment of silence I decided to keep my mouth shut.

"-how she can even knock someone down like that, it's absurd."

Tomoyo and Naoko came quickly into the kitchen, carrying a pathetic first-aid kit.

"Hey, sorry about the arm," Naoko said gently, kneeling beside me. "Tomoyo, get me a towel or something."

"Naoko, are you a doctor?" I asked curiously as she looked at Stephen's arm.

"Oh, no way," she laughed. "I just thought it'd be fun to do this."

Stephen took a deep breath. "That makes me feel a ton better. Really." I looked at the arm Naoko was playing with curiously.

"...I could help. My dad was a doctor."

Stephen looked at me incredulously. "And you couldn't have mentioned that while I was lying here for half an hour? Really, Sakura, why don't you just-"

"At least she didn't fall over and break her arm, _Stephen_," Naoko seethed.

"Oh, of course, Sakura had nothing to do with this. It's not like she had a seizure and knocked me over or anything. I just fell over."

"You're retarded," Tomoyo muttered, walking away.

I tried to ignore them as best as I could. Trying to do anything with the supplies Naoko had was nearly impossible, but I made a decent looking sling-cast-thing. It's not like any of them knew any better.

"Better?" I asked, packing up the kit.

"No," he glared. After looking at my face, his softened. "Just kidding. I mean, it feels a lot- cleaner-"

"Forget it," I muttered, getting up. Without looking back I walked back to Tomoyo's room, despite Stephen's shouting.

I shut the door and took a deep breath. I heard her looking for something in the bathroom. Despite wanting to be alone I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes.

"Tomoyo, will you get me something to eat?"

She came out of the bathroom and stayed silent.

"Tomoyo?" I looked over toward the bathroom and frowned.

Nate leaned on the doorway watching me. He smiled.

"What are you doing in here?"

He held up his hand, holding nail clippers. "It's not like I had any."

I nodded, expecting him to leave. But he just stood there, staring at me. Like a stalker. An awkward silence followed.

"You look sad," he observed.

I smiled quickly. "No, I'm great."

He wasn't so easily deceived, walking to the edge of my bed and sitting down. From close up his face looked pretty worn itself.

He waited expectantly.

I sighed.

"I broke Stephen's arm today."

His eyes widened sightly, then laughed. "Sakura, that's not a big deal. I doubt anyone cares but you." He popped his knuckles absentmindedly. "It's not like anyone likes him."

"But- he was so _mad_ at me." I resented my voice cracking on the last word.

His eyes softened. "Oh, well, he has no pain tolerance. He was just taking out on you."

"Do you really think so?" I asked quietly. I felt so lame.

"Definitely," he smiled. "One time Chiharu accidentally hit him with the door and he didn't talk to her for a week. He's just an idiot."

I smiled. "Okay."

Nate patted my shin with brotherly affection and walked toward the door. "When's your birthday?" he asked, turning around.

"Last month," I said. "Why?"

He smiled. "Just wondering." The door closed quickly.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

After falling asleep for a while I left Tomoyo's room, bored out of my mind. I couldn't find anyone in the halls or den, and forced myself to check the kitchen.

I walked in to a huge party, celebrating the safe return of everyone gone. Tomoyo looked absolutely euphoric, Eriol following her as she stocked the pantry full. Syaoran was pinned against the wall as Meiling shouted Chinese at him angrily. Everyone else was sitting on the tables talking. I stood in the doorway, feeling like a new kid at school figuring out where to sit at lunch.

Maybe this was what it felt like to be adopted. Everyone else is this tight-knit family, and you come and try to weave yourself in. But I guess it never really is the same feeling as being one of them. They all fit together so perfectly.

Syaoran and Meiling took a break from screaming at each other and were locked in a bear-hug. Tomoyo and Eriol disappeared into the pantry discretely. No one else seemed to notice.

I watched Stephen flail his working arm in the air, apparently retelling the story to a few girls. Even Naoko set her book on the table and listened, correcting him every few minutes. Yamazaki was talking to Nate, who had his face covered. Neither of them looked happy.

Syaoran had continued yelling at Meiling, who stood with her arms crossed. He stepped closer and she punched him in the gut.

I looked back to Nate, who looked just as sober as he did before. We made eye contact and he immediately got up from the table, making his way into the hall. I closed the door to the kitchen quietly.

"I hate parties," he said, leaning against the wall.

I slid down the wall beside him. He followed, reaching for something in his pocket.

"Do you want to go upstairs?" he asked.

"...Is that like, an innuendo for something?"

He groaned and rolled his eyes, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. "Come on."

I followed him cautiously as he opened a door off the den, revealing a flight of stairs going up.

"Oh. Sorry."

"Stay here for a second." He took the stairs two at a time and disappeared for a minute or two. He came back down with Jordan, who looked ecstatic.

"I'll cover your shift tonight, I promise," he assured Nate. "Hey Sakura," he said happily, running towards the kitchen.

I followed Nate up the stairs into a short hallway. He unlocked a door to the right and walked in.

Inside were a dozen different screens with different camera views from outside and inside on top of a desk. The floor was littered with energy drinks and empty bags of chips.

"This is where I spend my life," he said, glancing at each of the monitors and sat down in a chair.

I sat in one of the chairs and looked at him closely. He said nothing, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from a desk drawer.

"I'd offer you one, but, you know," he said with a hint of a smile.

I looked at him with concern. "Are you all right?"

He exhaled slowly. "Great."

"What's wrong?" I asked. He looked at me through hazy eyes.

After a long pause he sighed. "I have cancer."

My eyes widened. "Really?!"

"No, Sakura," he groaned, eyes closed. "I'm just feeling a little under the weather. Of course taking into account that I haven't seen any weather in months may have something to do with that."

"I'm sorry," I said lamely. He smiled.

We sat in silence for a while. I entertained myself by watching the party in the kitchen. Apparently Meiling had smuggled a few bottles of alcohol and Syaoran was telling her off. No one else seemed to mind.

After watching everyone get drunk, I turned my attention to the items on the desk. Mostly it was crosswords and sudokus. In the middle was a picture of a cute woman with mousy brown hair and a green dress.

"Who's that?" I asked Nate, who looked like he was sleeping in the chair. He looked at the picture and his eyes hardened. "Some girl Stephen's obsessed with. He wouldn't do his shift unless I let him keep it in here."

"You know, it's not a bad thing to love someone," I chastised. "I think that's kind of sweet."

He said nothing. I fixed my attention back to the computer screen.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

After an hour or so Tomoyo came storming up the stairs, arousing me from my sleep. "_What the hell are you doing up here you sick_-"

"I'm sorry," I cried, feeling helpless. She rolled her eyes.

"Not you, Sakura." Her eyes fixed on Nate. "Has anyone ever told you it's _not_ a good idea to take a minor off into a locked room with you? Because it's not a good idea."

"Tomoyo, do you really think I'm in the mood right now?" Nate replied without emotion, keeping his eyes closed.

Her glare lessened in intensity. "Well, you could've at least told me," she mumbled, taking my hand and dragging into the hall. "Let me know if you need anything," she said before closing the door.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked Tomoyo as we walked down the stairs. She shrugged.

"He's probably got food poisoning. You never know when you're eating expired stuff." She laughed, but it seemed strained. "Do you want something to eat? Everything's fresh now, at least."

"I guess." My enthusiasm was good enough for her, and she dragged me to her room to change.

"It's a party," she whined, as she put me in a pink strapless dress. "You definitely don't look seventeen."

"Neither do you," I mused. Her black dress left little for the imagination. She rolled her eyes.

"It's a party," she said again.

I sighed. "Fine. Dress me like a prostitute, see if I care."

Tomoyo smiled giddily and dragged me out of the room.

Apparently there was a stereo in the kitchen that I didn't know about. The tables had been pushed back and a full-blown party ensued. Syaoran came toward us with a displeased look on his face.

"You know, dressing her like that makes me feel like a pedophile," he said exasperatedly. Tomoyo laughed and grabbed one of the drinks out of his hand.

Eriol came and swooped up Tomoyo quickly, leaving me and Syaoran alone in silence.

"Do you like to dance?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Tomoyo looks really happy," I commented.

"Apparently," he sighed. I looked at the floor. We stayed silent for a while.

"Is something wrong with Nate?" I asked abruptly. Syaoran looked down at me curiously.

"Why do you ask?" He took a drink slowly, avoiding my gaze.

"I don't know. He seems really quiet."

Syaoran put down his empty drink on the counter and sighed. "That's a long story."

"It's not like I'm going anywhere," I said quietly.

"Are you thirsty?" he asked. I looked at him incredulously.

"Joking." He stared into space for a minute. "We do a check-up on everyone's family when we're out, if we know where they are. Just for people who are curious."

Chiharu came over with two drinks. "Want some?" she asked. I thanked her and grabbed the obvious soft drink and Syaoran gratefully took whatever she brought him.

"Anyways, we checked on Terry, Nate's wife."

"_Hold on_," I spat. "He's _married?! _I thought he was like, a.."

Syaoran laughed. "I forgot you didn't know. We just tease him about being that way because he's totally obsessed with her." He took a drink and stayed silent for a while. "Their house was empty."

My smile faded. "Oh" was all I could say.

"To be honest, I don't think he should be upstairs by himself," Syaoran said quietly.

"I'll go check on him," I offered. I drank the rest of the coke quickly and left for the den.

I tried to get there as quickly as I could but ended up getting lost a few times, feeling lightheaded. I couldn't help but feel bad for Nate. There was something about him not being a jerk, and loving someone so much, that was... sexy.

I walked up the stairs and stopped in front of the door, taking a deep breath. I turned the handle slowly.

Nate was in the exact same spot. He looked over at me with no emotion on his face.

"Hey," he said in a low voice. My cheeks flushed.

"Syaoran... told me about what happened." This grabbed his attention, and he got out of the chair. I closed the door behind me silently.

I walked closer to him. He stayed rooted in place, looking down at me. I then realized how dark his blue eyes were. And how soft his hair looked. And how _muscular_ he was.

"I miss her," he said. His voice was husky. I put my hand on his arm in comfort. He grabbed my other arm and pressed his lips onto mine.

I definitely wasn't expecting that. My hands instinctively snaked into his hair, pulling him down closer to me. His hands gripped my back tightly. I suddenly felt something cold on my cheek. I pulled away quickly and looked at him.

He looked back at me through tear-stained eyes. He was shaking.

"Nate," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

His grip tightened. I wiped his tears with my hand and sighed, wrapping my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"You're not a slut," he said quietly. I didn't believe him.

"His wife is _dead_, Syaoran. I totally took advantage of him."

Syaoran sighed. "It's a loose definition of 'checking up' on him, but that doesn't make you a slut. And that's probably the first time he's kissed anyone in a few years. He probably enjoyed it."

"You're horrible," I said angrily. He said nothing, taking another drink. "How much have you had to drink tonight, anyway?"

"More than I should." His eyes followed Tomoyo, who was also having a very good time. "You should get to bed."

"I'm not five," I said back. He laughed.

"You certainly proved that tonight," he muttered under his breath. I glared at him. He smiled back.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked abruptly. I looked at him skeptically. "Oh, come on. You know you want to." He set his glass down and jumped off the counter he sat on. "Please. I'm so tired of sitting here."

I rolled my eyes as dramatically as I could and slid off the counter, grabbing his outstretched hand. He laughed and dragged me into the middle of the floor. His hands slid around my waist loosely. I gingerly put my hands on his shoulders, avoiding his overbearing smell of alcohol.

"I'm not going to call you a slut," he laughed, taking my arms and draping them around his neck, "if you touch my shoulder."

"You're thinking it," I accused him lightly. He laughed again.

"That wasn't your first kiss, was it?" he asked jokingly. When I didn't respond he pulled me away to make eye contact. "You're kidding."

"I had a protective family," I defended. "My brother would kill-"

He burst into laughter. "Your first kiss was with a widower."

I tried to glare at him, but I honestly thought it was funny. That and his obvious over-intoxication.

"He's like, twenty-five or something," Syaoran said quietly. "Is that seven or eight years difference? I can't remember."

"At least I'm not drunk out of my mind." He laughed, pulling me close again.

"My first kiss wasn't interesting," he said, lost in thought. "At least yours is an interesting story."

"Yeah, a story that I'm not telling _anyone._ Neither will you."

"How could I not? It's hilarious." He laughed. "You're so nice."

"I don't feel very nice right now."

"No," he said defensively, hugging me tightly. "You're sweet. I like it when you're here."

I smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said. "Everyone's always in a good mood when you're around. You're like a little tiny rainbow or something." He laughed again. Nevertheless, it made me smile.

"Maybe _you_ should get to bed," I offered. "What time is it?"

"I don't want to go to bed," he sighed. "You can't make me. You're too little."

"If you go to bed now I'll take care of you in the morning." I sighed. "Someone has to."

"Promise?" he whispered in my ear, smiling. I rolled my eyes, although he couldn't see.

"Fine." He seemed happy with that answer and nodded.

"Come on," he grumbled, taking my hand and leading me to his room. I obviously forgot where it was.

He opened the door with his key and motioned for me to go in first. I sighed and walked in.

"So are you going to brush your teeth or what?" I asked him. He ignored me.

"Hey," he said giddily. "It's 2:48."

I looked at the clock. "Yay."

"That means it's the morning."

I laughed. "No, I meant when-"

"AAGH!" he yelled happily, tackling me onto the bed. I screamed.

"Get off me," I demanded. "Now."

He grinned, then closed his eyes and fell asleep. Figures.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

I woke up to an alarm buzzing in my ear. I reached over angrily to shut it off. Syaoran's hand reached over a second after mine, groaning painfully. I looked over at him in amusement.

His eyes opened slowly and, upon seeing me, bulged out of his head. "No," he whispered. "No no no no no no no no no no-"

He jumped out of the bed and backed against the wall. "This isn't happening," he whispered. "What did I do, what did I do, what did I do-"

"Syaoran," I called loudly over his muttering. He looked up at me and groaned.

"Tomoyo- oh Tomoyo's going to _murder_ me-"

"Syaoran," I said loudly. "You fell asleep on me and I couldn't move. Thanks, by the way. For falling asleep on me." I threw the covers off, revealing my slut-dress still attached, and headed toward the door.

He looked at me with confusion, then a wave of relief swept over his face. "Oh good." He fell on the ground helplessly. "That was so scary."

I looked back at him and sighed. I _did _promise to take care of him, whether he remembered or not.

"Do you want some aspirin?" I asked bitterly.

He sighed and nodded. "You're amazing."

"I know," I muttered.

I returned with aspirin and a glass of water quickly, ready to actually go to bed. He took it gratefully.

"I'm going to bed," I mumbled, walking away. He grunted in reply.

I opened the door to Tomoyo's room, only to hear her shout something angry into her pillow about the light from the hall. I sighed and closed the door, too tired to argue at that point.

I walked to the den and found Nate by himself. He saw me and smiled.

"Good morning," he said as I sat down next to him on a white oversized couch.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked quietly. He rubbed his head.

"Probably in bed. I doubt anything will get done today."

I grabbed a pillow and set it on one of the sofa cushions. "Then I'm taking a nap."

When I woke up, I had traveled from a vertical position to draped entirely over the couch. Nate was gone; I couldn't help but think I kicked him off, seeing I was taking up the entirety of the couch. Sighing, I got up and made my way to the kitchen (which, after a week, I could finally remember where it was) to get breakfast. I heard someone cooking, assuming it was Tomoyo. I doubted she would let anyone else touch her stove. "Tomoyo?" I called, turning the corner.

But of course it was Nate, the second time I'd mistaken him for her. He looked up and smiled. "I figured you'd be hungry." He was making scrambled eggs and... _bacon._

"That looks amazing," I whispered, sitting on the opposite side of the counter. He smiled. "I guess no one bothered to clean up after the party." The rest of the kitchen was covered with trash. "Is that Chiharu in the corner?"

"I forgot about her," Nate said distractedly. "Will you go get her up? Yamazaki will kill me if I leave her like that."

I slid off the counter and absently remembered that I was still in my provocative dress. With a dramatic sigh I readjusted it and walked over to Chiharu.

"Hello?" I whispered. "Chiharu? Are you awake?"

She opened her eyes slowly. "Sakura?" She sighed.

"Hey, why don't you go to bed? Nobody else is up but me and Nate." She nodded slowly, taking her time as I helped her off the ground.

"What is that smell?" she whispered intensely. "Is that _bacon_?"

"Oh no," I lied. "That's just some old stuff. Tomoyo wanted us to get rid of it so it didn't go to waste." That bacon was no one else's but mine.

"Okay." She shuffled to the door silently, leaving me alone with my breakfast. I sat back on the counter, Nate still absorbed in his cooking. He slid the bacon off the skillet quickly and handed a piece to me.

I took it, oblivious to how hot it was, and bit into it slowly. It was even more amazing than I thought it would be. "Nate, I love you."

He laughed and turned the stove off, handing me a bowl of eggs. "Did Chiharu want any?"

"No," I answered quickly. This was the best I had eaten in years (literally), and I was not sharing with her.

We ate in silence, savoring every bite. Nate seemed to be feeling better than he did last night, at least. Oh, last night. Why did I remind myself.

Neither of us said anything for a while. Nate took my empty bowl and tossed it in the sink.

He cleaned the stove off slowly. "I'm sorry for what I did last night. I wasn't thinking." He looked up at me with concern. "Are you all right?"

I stared at him. "Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything."

He threw the skillet in the sink violently and locked eyes with me. "Because I'm ten years older than you. And you're a total pushover, and you wouldn't have stopped me. And I know better."

His eyes were so gorgeous. They were like, topaz. Was that blue? I couldn't remember. They looked like topaz.

"Sakura."

I looked away from his eyes and nodded. He let out a heavy sigh and continued cleaning.

"I know how you feel," I said quietly. I wasn't sure if he heard me over the water running.

He looked at the ground. "I know."

When my parents were taken I sat in Touya's lap and cried for at least a week. I couldn't imagine how he was okay.

"I just," he began, setting the clean skillet on the counter. "I knew it had to happen at some point, but..." His eyes fell to the floor. "I just wasn't ready for it."

His distress was opening my old wounds. I remembered the day Touya died and I sat helplessly scrunched in the pantry cabinet. I imagined that's how Nate felt right now. He stayed silent for a while.

"We have a new family now," I offered. "I'm actually really happy you and Syaoran kidnapped me."

He looked up at me and smiled. "Me too." I knew he meant it.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	5. Changes

My stomach hurts.

"I told you not to eat so much," Tomoyo chided impassively from the bed across from mine. She was absorbed in Eriol, who was underestimating the width of a twin bed.

"It's not that," I glared. I barely ate anything today. The one thing I had eaten, an expired can of yellow corn at Tomoyo's request ("Well I can't exactly throw it out, can I?"), wasn't sitting well in my stomach.

"Then could you go talk to someone else please?" Tomoyo looked genuinely sorry as she stared into Eriol's eyes and smiled. "Bye. Feel better."

"I hope you get to feeling better, Sakura," Eriol called as I walked out of the room.

"Sure," I seethed under my breath, intentionally leaving the door open. Then realizing that probably wouldn't stop them, I closed it quickly.

Today was Saturday, according to the most-likely wrong calendar in the den. Nevertheless, everyone lazed around carelessly and no work whatsoever was being done. Nate was uncharacteristically downstairs, laying on a loveseat and looking impassive. I sat in the chair beside him silently.

After a few minutes of long, silent silence, he turned his head slowly toward me. "Good morning, Sakura."

"Hi Nate." He looked down and took a deep breath. I could relate to him, knowing just how awful it felt to lose someone. However, at that time I was in a basement by myself, and also a girl. Therefore, I was allowed to sit and cry for hours on end. But Nate just stared at the small silver band on his left hand that I somehow missed over the past few weeks.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Bored. Tomoyo kicked me out of her room." The den was still dark, with only two of the lamps turned on since barely anyone was awake. I cast a warm, sensual glow around the room. I felt a small ache for my own family.

"Why?"

"...She wanted to sleep in."

We sat in silence for a while. I couldn't imagine how Nate was staying so indifferent through the situation. But he just sat there and stared at the wall impassively.

I thought of what Touya would do if I had died. He would have probably torn something down, most likely punched a wall or something destructive. If he had been with me, he would blindly run after my killer and get himself into all sorts of trouble. My dad would have locked himself in a room for days, without eating or sleeping. He rarely ate when something bad happened. My mother wouldn't care who saw her, screaming and shouting and kicking and weeping as loud as she could. Never would any of them just... sit there.

I bowed my head and quickly wiped my face when I realized I had been crying. I felt like an idiot.

"Are you okay?" Nate asked with his head resting on his knees. I guess I wasn't as subtle as I thought I was.

"Sure."

"Do you want a hug?"

I looked at him skeptically. "What?"

"I thought women liked hugs when they were sad." He remained motionless.

"...Uh."

"Are you sure you don't want to sit over here or something?"

I looked back at him with aggravation, about to tell him to shove it, when he turned to look at me and I saw his desperate expression.

"Yeah. I'd really like to sit by you if you don't mind."

"Of course." He made room for me on the red-upholstered loveseat and cleared his throat. I curled into a ball beside him.

"What did you do when you lost your family?"

I was surprised at his sudden motivation to talk. "Well, when I found out about my parents I sat in my brother's lap and cried for a few days. When he died... I waited until the others were gone, then I went downstairs..." I sighed. If he needed to talk about my family dying to feel better, I would talk about my family dying. It just wasn't helping me too much.

"Sorry."

"It's fine." I wiped my face quickly. He wrapped a protective arm around me and sighed almost inaudibly.

"Hey guys!" Syaoran walked into the room happily. Nate inconspicuously moved his arm.

"Good morning Syaoran." I scooted away from Nate. Syaoran sent me a look as if to say I-know-what-you're-up-to. I glared at him. "Why are you up so early? And happy?"

He smiled. "It's my birthday."

I laughed. "Seriously?"

Sure enough, he was practically bouncing around the den like a five-year-old. "Yes. Seriously."

"Isn't this your 30th?" Nate muttered, raising his head to look at Syaoran innocently. Syaoran's face immediately fell and his bouncing stopped.

"No." He sunk into the chair I had been sitting in. "I'm 26."

Nate hid a smile and lowered his head again. "Sorry."

Despite the apology, Syaoran's high spirits had already been crushed. He sighed and leaned back in the chair. "It's fine."

I was tired of these men moping around like someone died. Okay, someone had, but Syaoran was just being ridiculous. I mustered up all my happiness and grinned.

"Syaoran, can I make you birthday breakfast?" I tried to sound sincerely excited as I said this, even though I had no cooking experience and wasn't ready to get any.

He perked up slightly. "You really want to?"

"Yeah, it sounds like _fun_. Plus, Tomoyo's busy." I got up and smiled. "Do you want to come?"

He nodded and stood up, following me like a puppy to the kitchen and sitting at the counter with childlike anticipation. Although he was aggravating, I had never seen a grown man so excited for me to cook.

"What do you want?" I called from the pantry. He shouted "pancakes" back instantaneously.

Of course, we had no pancake mix. I brought flour back to the counter and stared at him. "How do you make pancakes?"

He somehow knew the recipe and walked me through it. Half of the pancakes were burnt and the other half were pretty gross-looking once I was finished, but he looked eager enough to eat them.

Since it was his birthday, I pulled out some sprinkles to put on top. Syaoran grinned when I handed them to him and devoured them within a couple minutes.

While he wolfed down his birthday breakfast, I cleaned up the awful mess I made. I had covered the both of us in flour, along with the entire counter. If Tomoyo weren't so busy she would be murdering me.

"Thanks, Sakura," Syaoran said happily when he was finished. I fake-smiled and continued to scrub my pan. "Tomoyo's pancakes are way better, but I appreciate your effort."

"Wow. I'm surprised my first attempt at pancakes weren't the best in the world." I scrubbed the pan angrily. I hated being nice to people. And it was such a sexist thing to clean up after him. Why couldn't he just be manly and not care about what someone else said? Of course, men were rarely manly. It was always women fixing problems and not caring about what people said.

"Do you want some help cleaning up?"

"It's your birthday." I threw the pan into the cabinet and moved on to everything else. This was a mess.

"But you're a girl. And I feel bad." He hopped over the counter gracefully and took the scrubber from my hand.

"But it's your birthday." I took the scrubber back.

"Therefore I demand that you give me the scrubber." He took it from me.

"You can't do that." I grabbed it.

"Yes I can. It's my birthday." He yanked it out of my hand and grinned. "I get to do whatever I want."

"That's irrational. _Give it to me._" I reached for it, but he held it over his head.

"No."

After minutes of jumping to no avail, I sighed. "Fine. Don't expect pancakes next year."

"They weren't that good."

"Well... That's because I made them bad on purpose."

"Oh, I'm sure of that." He wiped the counter down dominantly. I glared at him.

He finished more quickly than I would have, probably because he was so happy he won the cleaning contest. Which wasn't fair, but whatever.

"Finished." He grinned smugly and stretched his arms. I took the scrubber from him and threw it in the sink angrily.

"Yeah, well, when it's my birthday I'm going to-"

"When is your birthday?" he asked. I looked at him and frowned in confusion.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because." His eyes were intense as he hopped the counter again. "When is it?"

"April 3rd. Happy?" I jumped over the counter after him and sighed. "Now I'm hungry."

"That's like, five years from now," he pouted childishly.

"Look, it's only ten months. And why do you care so much? I should be more excited than you are. Because it's _my_ birthday."

He smiled. "Today is my birthday."

"Yeah."

Syaoran sighed and walked out of the kitchen. I followed him with nothing else to do. "Wait," I whispered before he walked out the door.

"Why are you whispering?" he whispered. I rolled my eyes and dragged him into the pantry. He looked around nervously.

"Why did you take me into the pantry?"

I bit my lip. "You know when... I told you that thing, that night..."

"You are extremely specific."

I stopped to glare at him.

He glared at my glare.

"Seriously."

"I really don't know what you're talking about."

I sighed. "Okay. When everyone got home... And... I told you about that... thing..."

He looked at me in confusion. "You know, I don't recall much from that night."

"Oh." Maybe my secret was safe. "Never mind then. Just... bye." I walked out of the pantry quickly, leaving Syaoran extremely confused.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

I was wandering around boredly when I saw Tomoyo running toward me looking frantic. "Sakura," she whispered in a frenzy. "I have to talk to you."

We scurried into the cleaning closet and she shut the door quietly. "Sakura, I have a _huge_ problem." She sunk to the floor, running her hands through her hair.

I sat down beside her. "Tomoyo, it can't be that bad."

She looked at me with anguished eyes. "Yeah, Sakura, it can. This is terrible."

I sensed this wasn't a normal Tomoyo this-is-the-end-of-the-world thing. This was an actual problem. "What did you do?"

Tomoyo laughed. Her tears dared to spill over her eyes. "Sakura, I think I'm pregnant."

My heart leaped. "What?"

She beat her head against the door slowly. "No, no, no, no-"

"Tomoyo, _what_?" I looked at her incredulously. "You're seventeen!"

"No I'm not," she said. "I'm 22."

"I can't- wow. That is so illegal."

She looked over at me. "_That's_ what you're worried about? Sakura, we don't have a legal system anymore. Except 'don't get pregnant because we can't raise a freaking kid down here'. Oh, Syaoran's going to kill me." Tomoyo looked as fragile as I had ever seen her, ready to break into a million pieces.

"Wait, how are you even sure?" My eyes automatically went to her stomach.

She rolled her eyes. "How do you think?"

"Well, it's not like you can run to Walgreens and get a pregnancy test." I sighed. "Just asking."

"Sakura, do you think I'm a bad person?" Tomoyo looked over at me guiltily.

"No, of course not."

Neither of us talked for a few minutes.

"...I kissed Nate the other night."

Tomoyo looked up suddenly. "Are you _serious_?"

"Don't tell anyone, please! You're the only one that knows... or remembers, at least-"

She burst out laughing. "You..." She continued laughing.

"Shut up." I glared at her. "It's not funny."

"Yes it is," she laughed. "It's hilarious."

I was glad to see her laughing, even at my (and Nate's) expense. Even though it wasn't funny.

Tomoyo finally calmed down. "That's so funny."

"It was romantic."

"Was it really?" she asked, about to burst out laughing again.

"...No."

She smiled. "Well, you'll find someone some day. Even if you only have half a dozen to choose from and they're all a decade older than you are."

I looked at her. "Thank you for the security."

"No, maybe you have a shot with Nate. Just... wait a couple years. Until _you're_ eighteen and _he_ isn't mourning about his dead wife." She grinned.

"Shut up."

"I'm hungry." Her smile faded. "I bet it's because I'm pregnant."

"Tomoyo, I'm pretty sure that people get hungry when they're not pregnant. I'm hungry."

"I feel more hungry than you do."

I stood up and helped her. "Do you want something to eat?"

"Wait." She turned to the side. "Are you sure you can't see a baby bump?"

I stared at her stomach intensely. "...Yeah."

"Okay, good." She unlocked the door and opened it quickly. "AAH!"

Chiharu jumped away from the door. "I... spilled something... I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE-"

"_SHUT UP," _Tomoyo screamed, dragging both of us into the cleaning closet again. "Shut up."

"Sorry," Chiharu said sheepishly. "But _are you really_?"

"Seriously, you both have to swear on your lives that you won't tell anyone. _Anyone_."

We both swore, making Tomoyo feel much better. "Now go do something. This looks conspicuous."

Sure enough, when Chiharu opened the door Rika stood outside nervously. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Well-" I began.

"Sakura and Nate hooked up the night his wife died," Tomoyo shouted. "That's what we're talking about. Oh Sakura, don't look so embarrassed. He's hot."

My face turned bright red. Chiharu and Rika stared wide-eyed at me. I felt like a prostitute.

"We- we didn't do anything... except, he-"

"What's going on over here?" Naoko asked, walking around the corner. "Is this like, a secret meeting?"

I sighed. So much for a secret.

"Nate and Sakura did it when his wife died," Chiharu whispered with a hand covering half her mouth.

Naoko assumed the same expression as Rika. "Really?"

"We didn't do... _it._ We just- this is insane. Nothing happened."

"_Lies_," Tomoyo seethed. "You brought all of us to the secret closet meeting to _lie_ to us?"

"You're just jealous."

"Jealous of what?" Meiling asked. "Why is everyone over here but me?"

"We're having a secret meeting about Nate and Sakura's affair," Naoko said accusingly. I wanted to throw something.

"We're not-"

Tomoyo and Meiling shared a moment of laughter, leaving the rest of us in shock and disappointment.

"Shut up."

"You know he's like, forty, right?" Naoko looked displeased rather than anything.

"He's twenty eight," I whispered defensively.

Chiharu laughed. "I would've done it. He's hot."

"Who's hot?"

"You know, it's not even considered an affair if neither of us are married, and we didn't even do anything to consider it an affair." My face was on fire from either anger or embarrassment, or a little bit of both. "Oh, hi Nate."

Nate smiled and leaned on the doorframe. "What are we talking about?"

"Nothing," Rika said quickly, and the closet meeting dispersed as quickly as it appeared. Needless to say, I felt awful, confused, and very, very angry.

His eyes looked especially blue as he looked into mine. "Hi."

"Hi."

Tomoyo conspicuously coughed. "I'm going to go eat something. Not like I'm really hungry. Just a little bit."

"Bye Tomoyo." We watched her leave quietly.

"So," he said with a small smile. "I guess that's not much of a secret anymore."

My face fell. "I'm really sorry, I didn't think everyone would just-"

"Don't worry about it," he interrupted. "Really."

"Sorry," I whispered quietly. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"You don't have to apologize."

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked quietly.

He yawned. "Nothing. Just wondering why everyone was over here."

"Oh." I looked at my feet. "So you'll be at the party tonight?"

"No, I have other plans." He smiled. After a few seconds of me staring at him he sighed. "That was a joke. I'm coming."

"Oh." Then I just felt really stupid.

"Well, I'll see you there." He smiled and his brilliant blue eyes looked straight into mine.

"Okay," I swooned as he walked away.

Chiharu popped out from around the corner. "I can't believe you two are going out."

"Shut _up_," I fumed. She smiled.

"See you tonight. Or maybe I won't." She raised an eyebrow. "Like, if you guys are making out upstairs. Get it?"

"No" was the best comeback I had to that.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Tomoyo, I'm not wearing that. It's just degrading."

She rolled her eyes. "Please. It's so cute."

"No."

She set down the skimpy dress and sighed. "Just because I have to be conservative doesn't mean you have to be."

"Well, I'd like to be wearing something more than that."

"_Please_. It's not that bad."

"It's hot pink and made with less than a yard of fabric."

"Well, I think it's cute. Maybe I'll wear it." She held it up and smiled. "You can't see my child, can you?"

"Syaoran's going to find out at some point, you know," I reminded her. "Why put yourself through all of the secrecy when you could just get it over with?"

"Because I want the next couple months to be happy, unlike the rest of my life after I give birth." She sighed happily. "I'm wearing this dress. My body will never look this good again, I might as well just show it off while I can."

"Good. Maybe your child will fall out."

"I wonder if it's a boy or a girl," she sighed. "Sakura, I'm having a _baby_," she cooed happily. "A baby."

I frowned. "You're happy?"

"Well I will be," she laughed, fitting smugly into the dress. She didn't look awkward or adorable or any of the things I would have looked in it. "You know, after labor."

"I'll just wear this," I said, motioning to my sweatpants and t-shirt. Tomoyo growled.

"Don't even try, Sakura." She dug around in her closet for a few minutes. "Ooh! This is perfect. Sakura, please wear it. Pretty please."

"No- oh. It's cute." The dress was royal purple, strapless with gold embellishment wrapped around the top. Halfway down the thigh it opened into ruffles all the way to the floor. It was gorgeous.

"Well, you're wearing whether you like it or not."

"Good thing I like it, then." She smiled.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The den had been transformed by Tomoyo earlier that day at some point. All the furniture was gone, creating a large, open space. There were streamers all across the ceiling hung low. And how Tomoyo got a helium tank for the balloons, I didn't know. It was very well done for a post-apocalyptic party.

Everyone was already there, standing and talking. I was happy to see them dressed up nicely; they seemed completely different from the sweat-pants-wearing, do-it-yourself, what-is-a-shower kind of people I had grown to know them as.

"PARTY!" Tomyo shouted, running to the alcohol. She stopped in the middle of pouring a glass, cursed, and handed it to Chiharu. "I don't fell well," she mumbled, looking absolutely forlorn.

Syaoran looked as happy as he did at the beginning of the day standing in the middle of all his little buddies. Deciding not to bother him (or maybe just not wanting to talk to him because it would be awkward, but whatever), I moved over to Naoko and Stephen, one smiling and the other glaring.

"Hey, Sakura! Nice dress," Naoko said with a nostalgic smile. "It's one of my favorites of Tomoyo's."

My brow furrowed. "She's worn it before?"

Naoko laughed. "Yeah, she's worn it." Her eyes wandered into the distance, and if it were a movie I'd expect the screen to fade into another story. But in reality it was just kind of awkward. Stephen stirred his drink absentmindedly.

"So how's the arm?" I asked loudly. Tomoyo had turned up the music to an almost incomprehensible level. Apparently bleeding eardrums was her new drunk.

He sighed dramatically, sticking out the makeshift cast in my face. "It's... it's painful."

"...Aah." I nodded.

Meiling bumped into me and let out an insane cackle. "SAKURA!"

"Hi?"

She hugged me giddily. "I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN FOREVER. WE NEED TO HANG OUT MORE."

"Okay." I pushed her off gently. She began dancing in circles with an invisible partner, but nevertheless cackling away. "So is this a party or just everyone getting drunk?" I asked Stephen.

"What else would you do at a party?" he asked, as if it were obvious. He took that as an opportunity to disappear into the mass of bodies.

"Okay, sorry for only getting invited to Scrabble parties as a kid," I muttered under my breath. I was about to find a chair to sit in when Nate came up behind me laughing.

"Hey Sakura," he shouted above the music. "You look remarkable."

I couldn't help but grin. "Really?"

"Yeah, I love that dress. It brings back memories." He handed me a glass of what I assumed to be Sprite. "How are you?"

I took a drink. "Loud. I'm very loud right now."

"I totally get that." He smiled. "Did you bring a present?"

My grin fell instantly. "What kind of present?" I nearly whispered.

He shook his head. "No, you wouldn't... don't _worry_ about it, Sakura!" he begged, shaking my face with a smile. "There are so many things going on here, nobody expects you to keep up with everything."

I sighed and drank more. "What did you get him?"

"A week off dusting." He held up a piece of paper. "There's not... much to get people." He laughed.

I smiled.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked, taking my drink and setting it on a nearby table. Before I could say anything he swept me off my feet, literally, into the small tangle of bodies in the middle of the room.

I had always loved dancing. Although I hadn't done it in years, the second my feet landed back on the floor I felt the bass seep through my bones and my feet followed silently. I probably looked ridiculous, but it was fun and I wasn't looking to impress anybody. Being with Nate was fun too. It seemed like he would never stop smiling, and that was way better than him being sad. I could have easily danced all night and still have begged for more.

"PRESENTS!" Tomoyo shouted, turning the music down. I stilled, hands wrapped around Nate's muscly waist. He laughed nervously, detached himself, and walked over to the couch. I took a moment to bask in the awkwardness before walking to join him and everyone else.

"Guys, you didn't have to get me anything," Syaoran said happily.

"Well, I didn't! HAHAHAHAHA!" Eriol laughed.

"I can't believe that's the father of my child," Tomoyo whispered beside me. "Okay, open mine first!"

Syaoran took the over-decorated box and sighed. "I wonder what it is." After a quick shake, he unwrapped it. Clothes.

"Thanks," he mumbled with a smile. Tomoyo grinned.

Naoko pushed her way into the middle. "Me next."

Small but meaningful gifts went around slowly, reminding me how close of a bond these people shared. It almost felt like I was violating something precious just being around such a close family. I just sat in the back and took comfort in the fact they were having so much fun.

"It's a hug coupon." Meiling grinned behind her drink. Syaoran stared at her blankly. "Okay, fine. I found it while we were running errands." She handed him a small, crunchy bag. "Just don't eat all of them tonight.

"_Doritos_," he whispered.

"Yeah, she's the best. Can we get on with it?" Eriol hugged Tomoyo from behind, toying with her hair. "I wanna _dance_."

Tomoyo grimaced and untangled herself. "Ew. Fine. I just have one more present that I... couldn't fit into." She grabbed my arm and dragged me forward, smiling from ear to ear. "See? I _fixed_ it."

Syaoran gaped at me. I felt extremely violated.

"What?" I whispered to Tomoyo. "What is with this dress and staring into the distance reminiscing?" She immediately shoosh-ed me.

"You..."

"Fixed it," She finished. "And you're welcome."

"How did I not notice?" Syaoran murmured, rising out of his seat and moving straight toward me. Eyes widening into frightened saucers, I backed up the few inches the room alloted me.

"This is weird," I stated.

He laughed happily, examining the dress all over. Therefore, examining _me_ all over. Making me feel extremely awkward. "I thought this dress died three years ago."

"Don't underestimate me," she scolded with a cocky grin. "I have a gift."

"Okay," I groaned, pushing him away from me lightly. "Let's all just keep like, a three-feet radius away from me." I motioned around in a flailing motion.

"But," he protested, walking toward me again. "It's the-"

"Yeah, it's 'the dress.' I get it." People slowly rose from their seats, marveling at my dress for a minute before returning to the dance party. I stood with my arms limply at my sides, wondering _why_ people cared so much about a simple piece of fabric.

"Sakura," he sighed, tugging me gently away from the crowd and into the corner of the room. I sat leaned against the back of one of the couches, feeling left out and frustrated. Syaoran looked down in concentration, placing words in his mind.

"I assume you've heard our story, right?" he began, leaning on the couch next to me. "How Tomoyo and I escaped that one night."

I nodded slowly.

"Well, she was wearing this dress." Syaoran trailed a nostalgic hand on the fabric gently. "We didn't have spare clothes, so she ended up wearing for about three weeks." He laughed softly, looking at the ground and sighing. "I think the essence of our survival kind of revolved around it. We were on the run, half-starved, and yet she was walking around in this... gaudy thing." He paused. "It was basically the only thing that kept me from giving up."

My brow furrowed.

"Eventually, we made our way to the warehouse and she changed into street clothes." Syaoran looked at the dress wistfully, toying with the top layer of fabric absently. "...I mean, I barely recognized her. I was happy for her, because to be honest the dress smelled like death. But..."

Our eyes met for a moment, mine confused and his longing. "I fell in love with the girl in this dress." He turned his head toward the ground again. "And then it's like she vanished."

My breath caught.

Before I could interject he continued. "So just indulge me, please?" A short smile played on his lips.

"I-" His hands dragged me into the middle of dancing, a slow song pulling us together into a gentle rhythm.

I thought about refusing, but it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Sakura," he smiled, hands hugging my hips gently. "You look better in that dress than Tomoyo did."

I was taken aback. "No, Tomoyo is-"

"I'm not saying that she didn't look good in it," he muttered, probably afraid that she was listening. "But she's too vivacious to wear something so..." His eyes wandered the dress, searching for words. "Delicate."

I stammered, at a loss for words. There was a very small gap between us, I noticed, as Syaoran's breath brushed against my face. He only smiled.

"I think it suits you."

A dark pink shade crept onto my cheeks. Why did I feel so different around him?

We swayed in silence for a while. My eyes wandered across him, examining him closely. Could he really be only nine years older than me? The more I thought about it, the less strange it seemed.

"I'm sorry I didn't get you a present," I said quietly, gazing at his chest absently. "I didn't know I was supposed to."

Syaoran laughed loudly and brushed a hand through my hair casually. "I wouldn't expect you to. I guess you can count this as a present if you want to." I looked up to see a playful smirk on his face. "It'll have to do."

I didn't know what to say to him. I never did. I just looked away from him and let out the breath I had been holding.

"Excuse me, Syaoran, but could I steal Sakura for a moment?" I turned to see Nate behind me, offering a hand in my direction. "I don't think it's fair that you get her for the whole evening."

Syaoran looked surprised. "But it's my birthday," he muttered as I untangled myself from him.

"Sorry," I whispered as Nate wrapped me into his arms, sticking his tongue out at Syaoran.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked. I shrugged, not really sure myself.

Nate admired my dress silently, rubbing his hands on the soft silk. "Well, you look amazing."

"Thank you." I sighed. A sudden wave of fatigue rolled over me, and I found myself leaning against his chest. My eyes closed without my permission.

"You tired?" he asked quietly. I nodded slowly, ready to fall asleep then and there.

"Here." Nate guided me down the hall and to my bedroom door. He opened it and peered in, then closed it quickly. "Occupied," he muttered before dragging me farther down the hall to a room I assumed to be his.

"You can rest in here if you want." He disappeared into the darkness and returned with a pair of sweatpants. "Hm?"

I gratefully took the clothes and stepped into his dimly lit room. "Thanks," I said quietly.

Nate grinned. "I'll be upstairs if you need me." With that he walked away, leaving me to change and collapse in his bed, unaware of what was coming.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"SAKURA!" someone shouted in the hall, waking me up immediately. It was frantic, running up and down screaming my name.

Quickly I fumbled out of the bed, hard concrete freezing against my bare feet. When I opened the door I saw Stephen running in my direction. "Come on!" Before I could protest we were running down the hall, down a path I had never explored.

"Where is she?" Tomoyo's voice screamed ahead of us.

"I found her," Stephen called down the dark hallway.

"Sakura?" Tomoyo shouted. When we rounded the corner I felt her arms wrap around me. "Oh Sakura," she sighed. "I was so worried about you."

"What's going on?" I said frantically. "Where is everyone else?"

"No time," Stephen muttered, opening a door and rushing us inside. Dark stairs ascended before us, which Tomoyo began to climb without hesitation. I followed her as Stephen trailed behind.

"Tomoyo, what's happening?" I asked when we reached the top. She shook her head and pushed another door open, this one leading outside into the crisp night air. I was immediately chilled to the bone, tugging my arms close to my chest.

"Come on," she urged, pulling my bare feet across a vast expanse of grass and into a small gathering of grass. "There's a car waiting on the other side of the forest. Just keep running straight and you'll find it."

"Wha-"

"Go _now_," she ordered. Our eyes locked for a moment before I followed her orders and began sprinting through the trees. Loose branches and rocks cut at my feet, but the adrenaline pumping through my body kept me from noticing.

When I finally crossed the forest, a covered Jeep was waiting in the shadows. I ran up to it and banged on the door gently. "Hello?"

Nate opened the passenger door and sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God."

"Get her in," Syaoran ordered from the other side of the car. Nate helped me inside carefully, and I curled up in the available space at his feet. The back of the car was loaded with boxes and supplies.

"Nate, what's going on?" I whispered as the car began speeding down the road. I couldn't see anything from where I sat, relying only on the loud thrum of the engine.

"They found us," he said simply. "I wasn't upstairs, so I didn't see them coming. But don't worry," he reassured when he saw my face. "Everyone's going to be fine."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Now that I'm not so sure about," he said with a tight smile. "Syaoran?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Syaoran stared at the road intensely, shifting gears every few turns.

"Well, that's not the point. The point is, we'll be fine." Nate reached down toward me and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I huddled against his legs and willed myself not to fall apart.

"Okay, I think this is the right way," Syaoran muttered partially to himself. "Do you have your phone?"

Nate handed it to him silently. After a few tense moments, he began talking. "Eriol? We found the road. Who's with you?"

I listened to him silently, hugging my knees to my chest. It felt like hours before the car stopped. Syaoran and Nate stepped out of the car, but a gentle hand kept me from getting up.

"Almost everyone's on their way. I can't get a hold of-" Syaoran looked at me and sighed. "Never mind. They'll be here."

My heart pounded in my chest. Who was lost? They could already be dead, for all I knew. I felt tears pour over my face and I didn't know how to stop them.

"Calm down, Sakura," Nate said quietly, opening the door of the car and grabbing my shoulders. "Everyone's fine."

I nodded, not really hearing what he was saying. A car drove past and he quickly shut the door, leaving me alone and scared.

Though the door was closed, I could still hear Nate and Syaoran's voices. "Tomoyo isn't answering. I don't know what happened to her and Stephen."

My breath caught in the back of my throat.

"Do you think she heard me?" Syaoran whispered. I tried to keep silent, but my body betrayed me as a soft whimper came out of my throat.

He cursed lowly. Nate opened the door again. "Sakura? They're fine. Don't worry."

I wanted to tell him to shut up, I wanted to do something. But all I could do was cry, curled up in a ball while everyone else was risking their lives. Nate kneeled down next to the car and sighed, reassuring me that everyone was fine to the point where I almost believed him.

"Tomoyo," Syaoran breathed. I looked up to see him on the phone, relaying information. A huge sigh of relief escaped me.

"Where are you though?" he asked quietly, then stilled. "No, why are you in town? Get out. Meet us over on-" His voice faded and his eyes widened. "Tomoyo?"

I pressed my lips together as hard as I could. Nate tried to distract me, but I pushed past him and walked toward Syaoran.

"I don't know the city. Just the back roads." Syaoran cursed again, running his free hand through his hair.

"Let me talk to her," I said quietly. He shooed me off impassively.

Anger welled up inside of me and I grabbed the phone from him. "Tomoyo? Where are you?"

"I don't know," her panicked voice answered. "There's a- some sort of toy store across the street. And a burger place right next to it."

"Okay, start going left. Do you see the bowling alley? Yeah, to the right. Now that second street next to it- Yeah, 41st. Go down that until it splits, and take the right fork." I slowly relayed the directions to my house, hoping the spare key was still under the flower pot.

I glanced over at Syaoran and Nate, who were talking in hushed tones. Syaoran looked at me and his brow furrowed, looking away.

"Under the flower pot. Okay, now in the back there's a door that leads to the basement... Yeah, that key is in the third kitchen cabinet from the right. Under the Christmas mug. Yeah. Okay, good." I sighed, happy to know that my best friend was safe. But what to do next was a mystery.

"They're at my old house," I told the two men quietly. "I figured they would be safe there. I mean, it's stocked for at least a few weeks."

Syaoran nodded silently. Nate grinned. "Nothing less from Sakura."

I took a deep breath and leaned against the hood of the car. "What now?"

Syaoran grabbed his phone from my hands with an eyebrow raised. "Eriol and Chiharu are on their way to our new site."

I frowned. "Just the two of them?"

"Well, Nate and I were-"

Nate cut him off sharply. "They're smart. Despite being a complete idiot, Eriol is actually very reliable."

"Yeah, but..." I eyed the Jeep, unconvinced. "It shouldn't just be the two of them. We should go help."

Syaoran laughed. "Do you know how much trouble I would get in if you got hurt? Tomoyo would turn me in herself."

Sudden realization hit me. "You two were going to go, weren't you?"

Nate shook his head. "No, we-"

"But I kept you from going." Guilt crept into my chest. "Everyone's in danger because of me."

"That's not true. You kept Tomoyo and Stephen out of danger. In a weird way you're keeping me and Syaoran out of danger." He smiled. "Don't beat yourself up."

"Stop babying her," Syaoran muttered under his breath, dialing a number on his phone and putting it up to his ear. Nate shot him a look.

"Chiharu? Yeah, it's Syaoran. How is it?"

Nate stared at the ground, lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly I felt extremely vulnerable and walked to his side. A protective arm slid around my shoulders.

"Should we be out in the open like this?" I asked him quietly. Though we were on an old one-lane highway with no other cars or buildings around, I felt as though we should be somewhere a little less public.

He shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. Nobody's going to use this road."

I stared up at the clear blue sky, something I hadn't seen in years, and smiled. "It's nice to be outside for a change."

I heard Syaoran sigh. "Well, tell them it's our property. They can't just take it."

I frowned. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Nate looked at Syaoran apprehensively. "You know, he'll be in a better mood once we make sure everyone's okay."

"Just... ask them if we can stay. It's not like we're going to do any harm." Syaoran rubbed his face with his free hand in agitation. "I know, Chiharu."

After a few minutes, he hung up the phone and sighed. "This is bad."

Nate tensed beside me. "What's going on?"

"The place I had in mind- it's just an old abandoned warehouse about 10 miles away. Chiharu said there's already a bunch of people there. Around 30."

"Well, do we have anywhere else to go?" Nate asked quietly, as if I couldn't hear him.

Syaoran's face twisted into a wry smile. I felt dread creep into my chest.

"She's asking them if we can stay. It's just..." He looked at me and sighed, as if I were a little kid that he couldn't get rid of. "She said they're a little... uncouth."

I sunk against Nate. "Do you think they'll let us stay?"

"They should. If not, we'll have to-" He paused. "...Uh, ask again."

"I'm not four," I said angrily. "You can say stuff around me. I'm not as sheltered as you make me out to be."

"Sakura, we don't mean to treat you like a child, but honestly. Do you really _want_ to hear about this?" Syaoran looked weary with exhaustion.

"You don't have to go out of your way when I'm around. Just say what needs to be said."

"Well, in that case," he said dramatically, "we'll get our guns and blow their heads off."

I rolled my eyes; Nate laughed. Before Syaoran could continue, the phone rang.

"Yeah?"

I leaned back against Nate and let out my breath. I wanted a roof under my head; being out in the open after so long was unnerving.

"Well, that's good news. We'll be there in about 15 minutes." He hung up and smiled. "They'll let us stay."

I smiled, a little bit of relief washing over me. I felt better as we got in the car, finally heading toward our safe haven.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Yeah, updating really doesn't work for me.**

**I'm sorry it's been 20 years. But I mean, it's here now right? I would say I don't update because I have friends and a life, but the truth is I'm working on another story right now, just not publishing it. So you have that to look forward to in... a few months.**

**I've missed you terribly. The reason I'm not publishing it is because I can change things in earlier chapters if I want to as opposed to having to cope with my meager writing skills. The only bad thing is, you can't read it and tell me how terrible it is. I miss that.**


End file.
